Full text of President
Buhari’s speech as Nigeria marks 55th
anniversary.
October 1st is a day for joy and celebrations
for us Nigerians whatever the circumstances
we find ourselves in because it is the day, 55
years ago; we liberated ourselves from the
shackles of colonialism and began our long
march to nationhood and to greatness.
No temporary problems or passing challenges
should stop us from honoring this day. Let us
remind ourselves of the gifts God has given us.
Our Creator has bequeathed to us Numbers –
Nigeria is the ninth most populated country
on the planet. We have in addition:
• Arable land
• Water
• Forests
• Oil and gas
• Coastline
• Solid minerals
We have all the attributes of a great nation.
We are not there yet because the one
commodity we have been unable to exploit to
the fullest is unity of purpose. This would
have enabled us to achieve not only more
orderly political evolution and integration but
also continuity and economic progress.
Countries far less endowed have made greater
economic progress by greater coherence and
unity of purpose.
Nonetheless, that we have remained together
is an achievement we should all appreciate
and try to consolidate. We have witnessed this
year a sea change in our democratic
development. The fact that an opposition party
replaced an entrenched government in a free
and fair election is indicative of the deeper
roots of our democratic system. Whatever
one’s views are, Nigerians must thank former
President Jonathan for not digging-in in the
face of defeat and thereby saving the country
untold consequences.
As I said in my inaugural speech, I bear no ill
will against anyone on past events. Nobody
should fear anything from me. We are not
after anyone. People should only fear the
consequences of their actions. I hereby invite
everyone, whatever his or her political view to
join me in working for the nation.
My countrymen and women, every new
government inherits problems. Ours was no
different. But what Nigerians want are
solutions, quick solutions not a recitation of
problems inherited. Accordingly, after
consultations with the Vice President, senior
party leaders and other senior stakeholders, I
quickly got down to work on the immediate,
medium-term and long-term problems which
we must solve if we are to maintain the
confidence which Nigerians so generously
bestowed on us in the March elections and
since then.
As you know, I toured the neighboring
countries, marshal a coalition of armed forces
of the five nations to confront and defeat Boko
Haram. I met also the G7 leaders and other
friendly presidents in an effort to build an
international coalition against Boko Haram.
Our gallant armed forces under new leadership
have taken the battle to the insurgents, and
severely weakened their logistical and
infrastructural capabilities. Boko Haram are
being scattered and are on the run. That they
are resorting to shameless attacks on soft
targets such as I.D.P. camps is indicative of
their cowardice and desperation. I have
instructed security and local authorities to
tighten vigilance in vulnerable places.
On power, government officials have held a
series of long sessions over several weeks
about the best way to improve the nation’s
power supply in the safest and most cost
effective way. In the meantime, improvement
in the power supply is moderately
encouraging. By the same token, supply of
petrol and kerosene to the public has
improved throughout the country. All the early
signs are that within months the whole
country would begin to feel a change for the
better.
Preliminary steps have been taken to sanitize
NNPC and improve its operations so that the
inefficiency and corruption could be reduced to
a minimum. Those of our refineries which can
be serviced and brought back into partial
production would be enabled to resume
operations so that the whole sordid business
of exporting crude and importing finished
products in dubious transactions could be
stopped.
In addition to NNPC, I have ordered for a
complete audit of our other revenue generating
agencies mainly CBN, FIRS, Customs, NCC, for
better service delivery to the nation. Prudent
housekeeping is needed now more than ever in
view of the sharp decline in world market oil
prices. It is a challenge we have to face
squarely. But what counts is not so much
what accrues but how we manage our
resources that is important.
We have seen in the last few years how huge
resources were mismanaged, squandered and
wasted. The new APC government is
embarking on a clean up, introducing
prudence and probity in public financing.
At an early stage, the federal government
addressed the issue of salary arrears in many
states, a situation capable of degenerating
into social unrest. The APC government
stepped in to provide short-term support to
the owing states and enabled them to pay off
the backlog and restore the livelihood of
millions of Nigerians.
Fellow Nigerians, there have been a lot of
anxiety and impatience over the apparent
delay in announcement of ministers. There is
no cause to be anxious. Our government set
out to do things methodically and properly.
We received the handing over notes from the
outgoing government only four days before
taking over. Consequently, the Joda
Transition Committee submitted its Report on
the reorganization of Federal Government
structure after studying the hand over notes. It
would have been haphazard to announce
ministers when the government had not
finalized the number of ministries to optimally
carry the burden of governance.
Anyway, the wait is over. The first set of
names for ministerial nominees for
confirmation has been sent to the senate.
Subsequent lists will be forwarded in due
course. Impatience is not a virtue. Order is
more vital than speed. Careful and deliberate
decisions after consultations get far better
results. And better results for our country is
what the APC government for CHANGE is all
about.
I would like to end my address this morning
on our agenda for CHANGE. Change does not
just happen. You and I and all of us must
appreciate that we all have our part to play if
we want to bring CHANGE about. We must
change our lawless habits, our attitude to
public office and public trust. We must change
our unruly behavior in schools, hospitals,
market places, motor parks, on the roads, in
homes and offices. To bring about change, we
must change ourselves by being law-abiding
citizens.
Happy Independence Celebrations. Long live
the Federal Republic of Nigeria. God Bless.
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