“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.
READ MORE AFTER THE CUT................................
“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, marshalled 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.”
No comments:
Post a Comment