In his inaugural speech shortly after
taking the oath of office as the sixth
democratically-elected president of
Nigeria, Mr. Buhari allayed fears that he
was returning to power nearly 30 years
after his military rule, to settle old
scores.
“I belong to everybody, and I belong to
nobody,” he declared. “These fears
(about going after perceived enemies)
are groundless. There will be no paying
off old scores,” he added.
The new president, who took time to
review the problems that the country
was facing as he assumes office,
identified insecurity, pervasive
corruption, unemployment, seemingly
unending fuel and power shortages as
the immediate concerns, and promised
to tackle them head on.
He said the challenge of resolving Boko
Haram’s insurgency would be given the
most immediate attention, adding that
despite the progress made in recent
weeks by the security forces, the
approach would have to change for
better results.
Part of the changes, he said, would be
the immediate relocation of the military
Command and Control Centre in Abuja
to Maiduguri until Boko Haram is
completely subdued.
Describing Boko Haram as “a mindless,
godless group who are as far away from
Islam as one can think of,” Mr. Buhari
said they were a typical example of
small fires, which, if not properly
handled, could cause large fires.
He blamed official bungling, negligence,
complacency and collusion for the
continued growth of the insurgent group
into a terrifying force that has taken
tens of thousands of lives and capturing
several towns and villages within the
Nigerian territory.
After the insurgent group has been
subdued, he said a sociological study
would be commissioned to determine its
origins, remote and immediate causes of
the evil movement, its sponsors and the
international connections to avoid a
recurrence.
He said his government would also take
steps to redress the other security issues
the country was facing, including
kidnappings, armed robberies,
herdsmen/farmers clashes and cattle
rustlings.
On the Niger Delta amnesty programme,
he assured that although it was due to
end in December, government intends to
invest further in the projects and
programmes currently in place to make
it more effective.
On the economy, the president blamed
the country’s poor economic
performance over the years on the poor
power situation, describing it as a
national shame that an economy of 180
million people could generate only 4,000
MW of electricity, and distributing even
less.
Continuous tinkering with the structures
of power supply and distribution for
which about $20bn was spent since
1999, he said, have only brought
darkness, frustration, misery, and
resignation among Nigerians.
“We will not allow this to go on,” he
said. “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.”
He said the country’s economy was in
deep trouble, in the face of depleted
foreign reserves, falling oil prices,
leakages and huge debts, pointing out
that government would require careful
management to bring a turnaround.
To tackle unemployment, he said, his
administration would revive agriculture,
solid minerals mining as well as credits
to small and medium size businesses to
kick-start small and medium-scale
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,” he said.
To achieve these objectives, the president
said his administration would
consciously work the democratic system
by ensuring that the three tiers of
government focused on their
constitutional roles to enable them serve
the country optimally and avoid the
confusion currently bedevilling
governance.
“The Federal Executive under my watch
will not seek to encroach on the duties
and functions of the Legislative and
Judicial arms of government,” he said.
“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, while the legislative
arm must keep to their brief of making
laws, carrying out over-sight functions
and doing so expeditiously.”
The judicial system, he said, needs to
reform to cleanse itself from its
immediate past, while the judiciary must
act with dispatch on all cases, especially
on corruption, serious financial crimes
or abuse of office.
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