President Muhammadu Buhari
I
am immensely grateful to God who has preserved us to witness this day
and this occasion. Today marks a triumph for Nigeria and an occasion to
celebrate her freedom and cherish her democracy. Nigerians have shown
their commitment to democracy and are determined to entrench its
culture. Our journey has not been easy but thanks to the determination
of our people and strong support from friends abroad we have today a
truly democratically elected government in place.
I would like to thank President Goodluck
Jonathan for his display of statesmanship in setting a precedent for us
that has now made our people proud to be Nigerians wherever they are.
With the support and cooperation he has given to the transition process,
he has made it possible for us to show the world that despite the
perceived tension in the land we can be a united people capable of doing
what is right for our nation. Together we co-operated to surprise the
world that had come to expect only the worst from Nigeria. I hope this
act of graciously accepting defeat by the outgoing President will become
the standard of political conduct in the country.
I
would like to thank the millions of our supporters who believed in us
even when the cause seemed hopeless. I salute their resolve in waiting
long hours in rain and hot sunshine to register and cast their votes and
stay all night if necessary to protect and ensure their votes count and
were counted. I thank those who tirelessly carried the campaign on the
social media. At the same time, I thank our other countrymen and women
who did not vote for us but contributed to make our democratic culture
truly competitive, strong and definitive.
I thank all of you.
Having just a few minutes ago sworn on the Holy Book, I intend to keep my oath and serve as President to all Nigerians.
I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.
A few people have privately voiced fears
that on coming back to office I shall go after them. These fears are
groundless. There will be no paying off old scores. The past is
prologue.
Our neighbours in the Sub-region and our
African brethren should rest assured that Nigeria under our
administration will be ready to play any leadership role that Africa
expects of it. Here I would like to thank the governments and people of
Cameroon, Chad and Niger for committing their armed forces to fight Boko
Haram in Nigeria.
I also wish to assure the wider
international community of our readiness to cooperate and help to combat
threats of cross-border terrorism, sea piracy, refugees and boat
people, financial crime, cyber crime, climate change, the spread of
communicable diseases and other challenges of the 21st century.
At home we face enormous challenges.
Insecurity, pervasive corruption, the hitherto unending and seemingly
impossible fuel and power shortages are the immediate concerns. We are
going to tackle them head on. Nigerians will not regret that they have
entrusted national responsibility to us. We must not succumb to
hopelessness and defeatism. We can fix our problems.
In recent times Nigerian leaders appear
to have misread our mission. Our founding fathers, Mr Herbert Macauley,
Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the
Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Malam Aminu Kano,
Chief J.S. Tarka, Mr Eyo Ita, Chief Denis Osadeby, Chief Ladoke Akintola
and their colleagues worked to establish certain standards of
governance. They might have differed in their methods or tactics or
details, but they were united in establishing a viable and progressive
country. Some of their successors behaved like spoilt children breaking
everything and bringing disorder to the house.
Furthermore, we as Nigerians must remind
ourselves that we are heirs to great civilizations: Shehu Othman Dan
fodio’s caliphate, the Kanem Borno Empire, the Oyo Empire, the Benin
Empire and King Jaja’s formidable domain. The blood of those great
ancestors flow in our veins. What is now required is to build on these
legacies, to modernize and uplift Nigeria.
Daunting as the task may be it is by no
means insurmountable. There is now a national consensus that our chosen
route to national development is democracy. To achieve our objectives we
must consciously work the democratic system. The Federal Executive
under my watch will not seek to encroach on the duties and functions of
the Legislative and Judicial arms of government. The law enforcing
authorities will be charged to operate within the Constitution. We shall
rebuild and reform the public service to become more effective and more
serviceable. We shall charge them to apply themselves with integrity to
stabilize the system.
For their part the legislative arm must
keep to their brief of making laws, carrying out over-sight functions
and doing so expeditiously. The judicial system needs reform to cleanse
itself from its immediate past. The country now expects the judiciary to
act with dispatch on all cases especially on corruption, serious
financial crimes or abuse of office. It is only when the three arms act
constitutionally that government will be enabled to serve the country
optimally and avoid the confusion all too often bedeviling governance
today.
Elsewhere relations between Abuja and the
States have to be clarified if we are to serve the country better.
Constitutionally there are limits to powers of each of the three tiers
of government but that should not mean the Federal Government should
fold its arms and close its eyes to what is going on in the states and
local governments. Not least the operations of the Local Government
Joint Account. While the Federal Government can not interfere in the
details of its operations it will ensure that the gross corruption at
the local level is checked. As far as the constitution allows me I will
try to ensure that there is responsible and accountable governance at
all levels of government in the country. For I will not have kept my own
trust with the Nigerian people if I allow others abuse theirs under my
watch.
However, no matter how well organized the
governments of the federation are they can not succeed without the
support, understanding and cooperation of labour unions, organized
private sector, the press and civil society organizations. I appeal to
employers and workers alike to unite in raising productivity so that
everybody will have the opportunity to share in increased prosperity.
The Nigerian press is the most vibrant in Africa. My appeal to the media
today – and this includes the social media – is to exercise its
considerable powers with responsibility and patriotism.
My appeal for unity is predicated on the
seriousness of the legacy we are getting into. With depleted foreign
reserves, falling oil prices, leakages and debts the Nigerian economy is
in deep trouble and will require careful management to bring it round
and to tackle the immediate challenges confronting us, namely; Boko
Haram, the Niger Delta situation, the power shortages and unemployment
especially among young people. For the longer term we have to improve
the standards of our education. We have to look at the whole field of
medicare. We have to upgrade our dilapidated physical infrastructure.
The most immediate is Boko Haram’s
insurgency. Progress has been made in recent weeks by our security
forces but victory can not be achieved by basing the Command and Control
Centre in Abuja. The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and
remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued. But we can not claim to
have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other
innocent persons held hostage by insurgents.
This government will do all it can to
rescue them alive. Boko Haram is a typical example of small fires
causing large fires. An eccentric and unorthodox preacher with a tiny
following was given posthumous fame and following by his extra judicial
murder at the hands of the police. Since then through official bungling,
negligence, complacency or collusion Boko Haram became a terrifying
force taking tens of thousands of lives and capturing several towns and
villages covering swathes of Nigerian sovereign territory.
Boko Haram is a mindless, godless group
who are as far away from Islam as one can think of. At the end of the
hostilities when the group is subdued the Government intends to
commission a sociological study to determine its origins, remote and
immediate causes of the movement, its sponsors, the international
connexions to ensure that measures are taken to prevent a reccurrence of
this evil. For now the Armed Forces will be fully charged with
prosecuting the fight against Boko haram. We shall overhaul the rules of
engagement to avoid human rights violations in operations. We shall
improve operational and legal mechanisms so that disciplinary steps are
taken against proven human right violations by the Armed Forces.
Boko Haram is not only the security issue
bedeviling our country. The spate of kidnappings, armed robberies,
herdsmen/farmers clashes, cattle rustlings all help to add to the
general air of insecurity in our land. We are going to erect and
maintain an efficient, disciplined people – friendly and well –
compensated security forces within an over – all security architecture.
The amnesty programme in the Niger Delta
is due to end in December, but the Government intends to invest heavily
in the projects, and programmes currently in place. I call on the
leadership and people in these areas to cooperate with the State and
Federal Government in the rehabilitation programmes which will be
streamlined and made more effective. As ever, I am ready to listen to
grievances of my fellow Nigerians. I extend my hand of fellowship to
them so that we can bring peace and build prosperity for our people.
No single cause can be identified to
explain Nigerian’s poor economic performance over the years than the
power situation. It is a national shame that an economy of 180 million
generates only 4,000MW, and distributes even less. Continuous tinkering
with the structures of power supply and distribution and close on $20b
expanded since 1999 have only brought darkness, frustration, misery, and
resignation among Nigerians. We will not allow this to go on. Careful
studies are under way during this transition to identify the quickest,
safest and most cost-effective way to bring light and relief to
Nigerians.
Unemployment, notably youth un-employment
features strongly in our Party’s Manifesto. We intend to attack the
problem frontally through revival of agriculture, solid minerals mining
as well as credits to small and medium size businesses to kick – start
these enterprises. We shall quickly examine the best way to revive major
industries and accelerate the revival and development of our railways,
roads and general infrastructure.
Your Excellencies, My fellow Nigerians I
can not recall when Nigeria enjoyed so much goodwill abroad as now. The
messages I received from East and West, from powerful and small
countries are indicative of international expectations on us. At home
the newly elected government is basking in a reservoir of goodwill and
high expectations. Nigeria therefore has a window of opportunity to
fulfill our long – standing potential of pulling ourselves together and
realizing our mission as a great nation.
Our situation somehow reminds one of a passage in Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar
There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life,
Is bound in shallows and miseries.
We have an opportunity. Let us take it.
Thank you
Muhammadu Buhari
President Federal Republic of NIGERIA and Commander in-chief-of the Armed forces
Source: Punchng
