Inaugural speech by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari following
his swearing-in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 29th May,
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 brethenen 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 bedevilling 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
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