FULL TEXT Inaugural speech of President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2015
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, cybercrime, 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
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 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
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