Here is the full
speech of President Muhammadu Buhari on Nigeria’s 62nd independence
anniversary.
Fellow Nigerians,
I address you today, with a deep sense of gratitude to God
and a high level of appreciation to all Nigerians whose tremendous goodwill
gave me the opportunity to provide leadership for our great country at one of
the trying times in her history.
2. Conscious that today’s address would be my last on an Independence Day as your President; I speak to the millions of Nigerians, who believed in me, propelled and stood by me in my quest to bequeath a country where all citizens have equal opportunities to achieve their lives desires in a peaceful atmosphere.
3. I am honoured to say that my story in the annals of
Nigeria’s history is no household secret. My various attempts, failures and
eventual success in being elected as a Democratic President in 2015 was made
possible by the majority of Nigerians.
4. When you elected me, I readily acknowledged that the
tasks before me were daunting but surmountable because of the growing national
consensus that our chosen route to national development was democracy.
5. This democracy was to be anchored on a clear
understanding, application and the principles of separation of powers supported
by a reformed public service that is more effective.
6. I then pledged to Improve the Economy, Tackle Corruption
and Fight Insecurity and this was further strengthened by my commitment to lift
100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years as the central plank of my
second term in 2019.
7. To the Glory of God and His Grace as well as the
commitment and passion displayed by many Nigerian supporters, we have made
appreciable progress in these areas but not yet at our destination.
8. Mindful of the task before us, we took some time in
settling down and we re-positioned the Economy by providing strategic
interventions in core areas at both the Federal and Sub-National levels.
9. One of the areas where we have made significant progress
is in the eradication of deeply entrenched corruption that permeates all facets
of our national development.
10. We strengthened the Institutions for tackling corruption
and also cultivated international support, which aided the repatriation of huge
sums of money illegally kept outside the country.
11. The increasing number of prosecutions and convictions,
with associated refunds of large sums of money is still ongoing. Furthermore,
we would continue to block opportunities that encourage corrupt practices.
12. In order to address Insecurity, we worked methodically in reducing
Insurgency in the North East, Militancy in the Niger Delta, Ethnic and
Religious Tensions in some sections of Nigeria along with other problems
threatening our country.
13. Our efforts in re-setting the economy manifested in
Nigeria exiting two economic recessions by the very practical and realistic
monetary and fiscal measures to ensure effective public financial management.
In addition, the effective implementation of the Treasury Single Account and
cutting down on the cost of governance also facilitated early exits from
recessions.
14. Fellow Nigerians, this administration removed several
decades uncertainty for potential Investors in the Oil & Gas sector with
the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021. This landmark legislation
created opportunities for foreign investments in addition to improving
transparency in the management of the sector.
15. Our administration has given the desired priority to the
Agricultural Sector through a series of incentives to Micro, Small and Medium
Scale Enterprises that resulted in creating millions of jobs. Leading this
initiative, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in a number of areas as
well as the Anchor Borrowers Programme had created the required leverages for
Nigerians towards self-sufficiency in food and the necessary attraction for
farming as a business.
16. The growing contribution of non-oil exports, especially
in agriculture, information and communication technology as well as the
performing arts to our national economy will enhance our foreign exchange
earning capacity.
17. We are confronting current economic challenges such as
debt burden, growing inflation, living standards and increasing unemployment
accentuated by our growing youthful population. These problems are globally
induced and we would continue to ensure that their negative effects are
addressed in our policies.
18. This administration will continue to ensure that our
fiscal policies are supported by a robust and contemporary monetary policy that
recognises our peculiarities in the midst of the growing global economic
difficulties.
19. This is evidenced by the recent Monetary Policy
Committee decision to maintain all parameters, especially interest rates and
marginally increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) from 14% to 15.5% and the
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) from 27.5% to 32.5%. It is projected that this would
further insulate our economy from over exposure to uncertainties at the
international market by restraining growth in core inflation.
20. As we continue to de-escalate the security challenges
that confronted us at inception of this administration, newer forms alien to
our country began to manifest especially in the areas of kidnappings,
molestations/killings of innocent citizens, banditry, all of which are being
addressed by our security forces.
21. I share the pains Nigerians are going through and I
assure you that your resilience and patience would not be in vain as this
administration continues to reposition as well as strengthen the security
agencies to enable them to deal with all forms of security challenges.
22. At the inception of this administration in 2015, I
provided the funding requirements of the security agencies which was also
improved in my second tenure in 2019 to enable them to surmount security
challenges. We will continue on this path until our efforts yield the desired
results.
23. As we put in place all measures to ensure that Nigeria
takes her place in the Comity of Nations, we recognize the importance of a
well-educated populace as a panacea to most of the challenges we face.
24. We have, therefore, pursued policies and implemented
programmes designed to create a literate and proficient society that ensures
that citizens are availed with opportunities for life-long achievements.
25. I must confess that I am very pained by the recurring
disruption to our tertiary education system and I am using this Independence
Day celebration to re-iterate my call for the striking Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) to return to the classroom while assuring them to deal with
their contending issues within the limits of the scarce resources available.
This administration has made appreciable progress in redressing these issues
that have been lingering for over eleven years.
26. The Federal Government will continue to mobilize
resources both internationally and nationally towards funding education to
ensure that our citizens are well educated and skilled in various vocations in
view of the fact that education is a leading determinant of economic growth and
employment generation.
27. Fellow Nigerians, we have also improved our health
facilities, especially during and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
which attracted commendation of the global community.
28. As you are aware, Nigeria was one of the countries that
defied global predictions of the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic because of our resilience, commitment and passion with which we
individually and collectively managed the pandemic.
29. This administration embarked on addressing critical ecological challenges
across the country in order to mitigate the impact of Climate Change
manifesting in the form of flood, soil erosion, desertification, air pollution
amongst others
30. We will continue to ensure that our infrastructure drive
remains the key to Nigeria’s economic growth and for which every Nigerian will
feel the impact.
31. The Federal Government is already expanding ports
operations to ensure that they provide opportunities for the growth of the
Nigerian economy.
32. We have also continued to accelerate our infrastructure
development through serviceable and transparent borrowing, improved capital
inflow & increased revenue generation by expanding the tax bases and
prudent management of investment proceeds in the Sovereign Wealth Fund.
33. To further open up our communities to economic
activities, we have continued to boost our railway infrastructure with the
completion of a good number of critical railways and at the same time
rehabilitating as well as upgrading obsolete equipment.
34. I am pleased to inform my fellow citizens that besides
our emphasis on infrastructural development with its attendant opportunities
for job creation, employment generation and subsequent poverty reduction, our
focused intervention directly to Nigerians through the National Social
Investment Programme is also yielding benefits.
35. There is hardly any ward, village or local government in
Nigeria today that has not benefited from one of the following: N-Power,
trader-moni, market moni, subsidized loans, business grants or Conditional Cash
Transfers.
36. All the aforementioned programmes along with various
interventions by the National Social Investment programme, direct support to
victims of flooding and other forms of disasters have provided succor to the affected
Nigerians.
37. Fellow Nigerians, no matter what gains we make, without
a good governance system anchored on electing credible leaders on the basis of
free, fair, credible and transparent elections, our efforts would not be
enough.
38. It is for this reason that I have resolved to bequeath a
sustainable democratic culture which will remain lasting. The signing of the
Electoral Act 2021 as amended with landmark provisions further assures us of a
more transparent and inclusive Electoral Process.
39. Having witnessed at close quarters, the pains, anguish
and disappointment of being a victim of an unfair electoral process, the
pursuit of an electoral system and processes that guarantee election of leaders
by citizens remains the guiding light as I prepare to wind down our
administration.
40. You would all agree that the recent elections in the
past two years in some states (notably Anambra, Ekiti and Osun) and a few
federal constituencies have shown a high degree of credibility, transparency
and freedom of choice with the people’s votes actually counting. This I promise
would be improved upon as we move towards the 2023 General Elections.
41. As we begin the transition process to another
democratically elected government, I want to implore all aspirants to conduct
issues-based campaigns devoid of hate speeches as well as other negative and
divisive tendencies.
42. I also want to express my wish that we see more female
and youth participation in the forthcoming electoral cycle. I am sure that our
teeming and energetic youths now realise that violence generally mar elections
and so should desist from being used by politicians for this purpose.
43. Reforms in the public sector are already yielding
results especially in the delivery of services. On this note, I urge the
general public to demand for citizen-centred services from the relevant
authorities.
44. On the international front, we have continued to take
advantage of our bilateral and multilateral platforms to explore cooperation
with friendly countries and partners whenever these areas of cooperation are to
the advantage of Nigeria.
45. Fellow Nigerians, in the past few years we have
witnessed and overcome a good number of challenges that would ordinarily have
destroyed our Nation. However, the indefatigable spirit of the Nigerian people
has ensured that we overcome our challenges.
46. It is in this spirit that I call on all of us to
individually and collectively bring to the fore in dealing with all our
development issues.
47. I was called to serve, along with my team, I saw an
opportunity to create a better Nigeria which we have done with the support of
Nigerians. Almighty God and the good people of Nigeria supported us in laying a
solid foundation for the Nigeria of our dreams.
I thank you all and God bless the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
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