President Muhammadu Buhari has lamented his inability to rescue the remaining Chibok school girls and other Nigerians still in captivity.
However, Buhari, who exits office Monday (today) after eight years of two terms of four years each, boasted that he was leaving Nigeria better than he met it.
The president, who said this Sunday in a farewell national broadcast, also extolled his administration for raising the bar in the nation’s electoral system.
President Buhari is handing over to Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu who takes an oath of office as the 16th President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Tinubu was declared President-elect March 1, 2023 by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, after securing 8,794,726 votes to defeat former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 6,984,520 to emerge second.
The candidate of Labour Party (LP) Mr Peter Obi, came third with 6,101,533 votes while the candidate of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Mr Rabiu Kwankwaso came fourth with 1,496,687 votes.
Farewell speech
In a farewell national broadcast, President Buhari said: “I am confident that I am leaving office with Nigeria better in 2023 than in 2015.”
He said the country’s democratic process was more resilient than he met it in 2015, making it possible for candidates with huge financial resources to lose elections.
“I started this journey with a great deal of promise and expectation from you. I never intended to be just politically correct but to do the correct things that will make meaningful impact on the lives of the common Nigerian.
“This high expectation was not misplaced because, like the ordinary Nigerian, I had grown tired of watching the country progressively moving away from the path of correctness.
“To ensure that our democracy remains resilient and our elected representatives remain accountable to the people, I am leaving behind an electoral process which guarantees that votes count, results are credible, elections are fair and transparent and the influence of money in politics reduced to the barest minimum. And Nigerians can elect leaders of their choice.
“We are already seeing the outcome of this process as it provided an even playing field where persons without any political God-Father or access to money defeated other well-resourced candidates,” he said.
Buhari auds Atiku, Obi, others
President Buhari commended candidates that participated in the 2023 elections for seeking redress on the conduct of the elections in courts as prescribed by the law.
“I salute the doggedness and resilience of all the Presidential candidates and their political parties for believing in our judicial system by taking their grievances with the election results to court,” he said.
Revamping the economy
The president also said the country had become more resilient due to the various strategies put in place by his administration to ensure the economy remains afloat during cases of global economic downturns.
“You would all recall the supply chain disruptions and economic downturn that the world witnessed between 2020 and 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The deftness of our response to the pandemic still remains a global best practice.
“Furthermore, we increased the ability of the poor and rural Nigerians to earn a living, provided more food for millions in our villages and gave our women opportunities to earn a living.
“Young men and women in urban centres were also supported to put their skills into productive use. Our administration also provided an enabling environment for the private sector to engage in businesses for which their return on investments is guaranteed,” he said.
Buhari said the private sector proved to be a strong partner in the administration’s drive to build a resilient and sustainable economy as evidenced by the growing number of turn-key projects in various sectors of the economy.
Economic hardship
He also apologised to Nigerians for the difficulties they went through as a result of the implementation of some of the economic policies of his administration.
“In the course of revamping the economy, we made some difficult choices, most of which yielded the desired results. Some of the measures led to temporary pain and suffering for which I sincerely apologised to my fellow countrymen, but the measures were taken for the over-all good of the country.
“Mindful of the need to ensure adequate infrastructure to drive economic growth, we completed age-long projects and processes notably amongst which are the Petroleum Industry Act, completion of some power projects, completion of the Second Niger Bridge and various important roads linking cities and states,” he said.
Chibok girls, others
On security, the president said the administration’s battle to ensure all Nigerians lived in a safe and secure environment had achieved considerable results.
He expressed grief over the inability of his administration to ensure the release of children still in captivity.
“As I complete my term in office, we have been able to reduce the incidences of banditry, terrorism, armed robbery and other criminal activities considerably.
“To sustain the gains made so far, I call on all Nigerians to be more vigilant and support the security agencies by ensuring that our values defined by being your brothers’ keeper govern our actions.
“Up-till now, I still grieve for our children still in captivity; mourn with parents, friends and relatives of all those that lost loved ones in the days of the senseless brigandage and carnage. For all those under unlawful captivity, our security agencies are working round the clock to secure their release unharmed,” he said.
Fight against corruption
In the last eight years, Buhari said the federal government under his leadership, pursued the fight against corruption relentlessly.
“Fellow Nigerians, you know how dear the desire in my heart is, to rid the country of corrupt practices that had consistently diminished our efforts to be a great country.
“I did pursue this commitment relentlessly, in spite of the expected push back. I am happy that considerable progress has been made in repatriating huge sums of money back to the country and also taking over properties illegally acquired from our common wealth.
“To improve service delivery, we began the implementation of a number of reforms aimed at producing an Efficient, Productive, Incorruptible and Citizen-oriented (EPIC) Federal Civil Service and the results are beginning to show,” he said.
On the international scene, the President said “Nigeria’s influence continues to grow as exemplified by notable Nigerians occupying headship and leadership positions in renowned global bodies.”
