“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
honouring 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; and 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
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 neighbouring countries, marshaled a
coalition of armed forces of the five nations to confront and defeat
Boko Haram. I met also the G-7 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 a complete audit of our other
revenue generating agencies mainly CBN, FIRS, Customs, NCC, for better
service delivery to the nation. Prudent house-keeping 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.
“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 debtor 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 behaviour 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.”
