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| President Muhammadu Buhari. |
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 brethrens should be 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 Caesar
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.
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.
Muhammadu
Buhari,
President, Federal Republic of NIGERIA
and
Commander in-chief-of the Armed forces.
President, Federal Republic of NIGERIA
and
Commander in-chief-of the Armed forces.
Beautiful speech there.PBM
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