This speech was delivered by
president Muhammad Buhari on his inauguration day:
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 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.
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.
Our neighbors 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 BokoHaram 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
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and Commander in-chief-of the
Armed forces
