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.
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 cannot 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 cannot 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 cannot 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 cannot 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 recurrence 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 overall 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 $20billion expended 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 unemployment 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 cannot 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.
