Hello, Happy democracy day to everyone. Did you miss Nigeria’s new presidents’ inaugural speech? You haven’t missed a lot. Read full speech below…
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 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 theFederal 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. Icall 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 CeasarCeasar
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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