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
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
and Commander in-chief-of the Armed forces
