The
Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, General Muhammadu
Buhari, in his last message to Nigerians before the elections on Saturday, has
called on them to give him the chance to lead the mission to re-build the
country.
“Give me the
chance to lead you in rebuilding a Nigeria that all of us can be proud of once
again”, he said in a statement made available to Channels Television.
Buhari, who
faulted the current administration on several accounts including corruption,
poverty and insecurity, noted that “At no other time in our history is Nigeria
in such an urgent need of strong and competent leadership. Sadly, at no other
time is this leadership so sorely absent in our country”.
According to
him, “No matter how much resources we have, if not properly utilized, it would
only create a few billionaires and leave majority of our people in poverty.
Under the current administration, corruption has enjoyed unprecedented
prosperity and this has been at the heart of most of our government failings,
including insecurity, broken infrastructure and growing inequality in our
country”.
The former
Head of State, in his message titled “Time For Nigeria To Be Great Once Again”,
urged citizens to realise that they were united in their fears and struggles
for a secure nation and better economy.
“Invariably,
our fears are the same; our dreams are the same; and our problems are the same.
Regardless of the language we speak, or the way we understand and worship God,
what affects anyone of us, affects everyone of us.”
The full
text of Buhari’s message here:
Time For
Nigeria To Be Great Once Again
I want to
take this last opportunity, before we go to the polls on Saturday March 28 and
April 11 respectively, to thank everyone who has supported our campaigns. I am
humbled and grateful to have had the opportunity to meet so many of my fellow
Nigerians who have helped to carry the message of change across our great
country.
This is the
fourth time that I would be standing for election as the President of Nigeria.
All these years, I have been driven by a keen awareness of the potential
greatness of our country and the desire to provide the true leadership that
will unleash this huge potential.
I believe
that a stable and prosperous Nigeria is not only important to Nigerians. It is
also important to Africa and the rest of the world. The evidence of this is the
unprecedented attention that our country will receive this weekend. On
Saturday, the whole world would wait with baited breath for the greatest black
nation on earth to take charge of its destiny. We must therefore not miss the
significance of this moment. We must not let ourselves and our country down.
At no other
time in our history is Nigeria in such an urgent need of strong and competent leadership.
Sadly, at no other time is this leadership so sorely absent in our country. We
live in a time of great opportunities and great peril. It is only a leader that
understands these in equal measure that can find the rightful place for Nigeria
among the great Nations of the world.
I have
travelled extensively around Nigeria in the last three months. In the course of
my travels, I encountered directly, what I have always believed: that a Hausa
man’s desire for security is not different from the Ijaw woman’s desire to feel
secured in any part of our country.
An Igbo
woman’s desire for her children to get quality education and find employment is
not different from the Yoruba man’s dream for his children to become a useful
member of our society. A wife’s desperate need for affordable and quality
healthcare for her husband diagnosed with prostate cancer in Enugu is not
different from a husband’s desire to save the life of his wife diagnosed with
ovarian cancer in Lagos.
Invariably,
our fears are the same; our dreams are the same; and our problems are the same.
Regardless of the language we speak, or the way we understand and worship God,
what affects anyone of us, affects everyone of us.
Our economy
is celebrated as the largest in Africa, yet our country is home to the
continent’s highest number of people living in extreme poverty. Our youth
population is larger than the combined population of many of our neighbours,
yet our failure to plan and create opportunities for them is turning them to a
social time bomb rather than economic catalysts.
A band of
ragtag terrorist group has threatened our territorial integrity, killed
thousands of Nigerians, displaced our people and abducted our children. The
almost 60, 000 Nigerians who have become refugees in neighbouring countries
represent a budding threat to sub-regional stability.
However,
even in the face of these daunting challenges, I see a great opportunity for
change. We have to start by rebuilding the trust and confidence of Nigerians in
their government. No citizen will respect a government under whose watch more
than 200 girls were abducted.
This
singular act can only portray the government as insensitive, incompetent or
both. When I become president, reuniting these children with their families
will, without doubts, be a top priority. Rebuilding the army and other security
agencies will also be a top priority of my government. I will ensure that never
again will terrorists find a safe haven in Nigeria.
Recent fall
in international price of crude leaves us badly exposed and vulnerable.
Dwindling oil revenue also means that we are going to face serious financial
challenges in the months ahead. However, even as daunting as this appears, it
also provides us with great opportunity to diversify our economy and finally
give meaning to the widely held belief that our prosperity as a nation would
not continue to depend on the resources buried under our feet, but on the
productive capacity of our people.
No matter
how much resources we have, if not properly utilized, it would only create a
few billionaires and leave majority of our people in poverty. Under the current
administration, corruption has enjoyed unprecedented prosperity and this has
been at the heart of most of our government failings, including insecurity,
broken infrastructure and growing inequality in our country.
My
government will have a zero tolerance for corruption. I will set a personal
example and run a government that truly serves the people rather than serve themselves
and a privileged few. Like I have repeatedly maintained that if Nigeria does
not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.
We must not
allow Nigeria to die. Therefore, we must do all that is necessary to root out
this evil that has reduced our great country to a laughing stock of the world.
We must begin to rebuild the social fabrics of our society and teach a
different experience to our youth in the values of hard work, discipline,
integrity and service.
The change
that I seek therefore; is a change from the current regime of mindless of
corruption and profligacy; a change from fear and insecurity to peace and
stability; a change from religious and ethnic divisiveness to unity, equity and
justice. This is the change that my party stands for. This is the change that I
am committed to bringing about as President. Give me the chance to lead you in
rebuilding a Nigeria that all of us can be proud of once again.
As we come
out to vote on Saturday, I appeal to all Nigerians to shun violence in whatever
form. It is the right of every adult Nigerian to vote and expect that their
votes would count in a free, fair and credible election. However, we also have
a responsibility to respect the choice of others and grant them the same
treatment that we expect.
I also want
to call on all our men and women in uniform, the Judiciary, and all others who
have constitutional responsibility to safeguard our democracy, to remember that
their responsibility is primarily to Nigerians and the survival of Nigeria. They
must therefore not allow anyone to use them to subvert the will of the Nigerian
people. I believe that their dreams and aspirations are not different from
those of other Nigerians.
I have no
doubt that with God being on our side; together we can make our country great
once again.
Gen.
Muhammadu BUHARI, GCFR
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