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, marshalled 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 situation 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, Federal Inland Revenue
Service, 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.
HappyIndependence Celebrations.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
God bless you all.
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