ADDRESS BY MUHAMMADU #BUHARI , PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 2018 DEMOCRACY DAY CELEBRATION , TUESDAY, 29 TH MAY, 2018. My Dear Nigerians! Today marks the 19 th year of our nascent democracy and the 3 rd Anniversary of this administration. I am thankful to Almighty God for bringing us thus far. This administration came at a time that Nigerians needed Change, the Change we promised and the Change we continue to deliver. We have faced a lot of challenges on this journey and Nigerians have stood by us in achieving the three cardinal points of this administration namely; Security, Corruption and the Economy.
2.The commemoration of this year ’s Democracy Day is a celebration of freedom , a salute to the resilience and determination of Nigerians and a recommitment by Government to keep its promise to lead Nigeria into a new era of justice and prosperity. 3.Public safety and security remains the primary duty of this Government . Before this Administration came into being 3 years ago, Boko Haram held large areas of land spanning several Local Governments in the North East. 4.Today, the capacity of the insurgents has been degraded leading to the re -establishment of authority of government and the release of captives including , happily, 106 Chibok and 104 Dapchi girls, and over 16 , 000 other persons held by the Boko Haram. 5. In order to minimize the impact of the insurgency on Internally Displaced Persons, Government has established secure IDP Camps and has improved the mechanism for the distribution of basic aid , foods and essential commodities using various strategies in collaboration with local and international Organizations. 6.Efforts are in process for resettlement of IDPs in their home communities by providing schools , hospitals , clinics , water and sanitation to facilitate a quick return to economic activities. Government is similarly implementing de -radicalization and rehabilitation programmes to facilitate sustainable peace and development. 7. The unfortunate incidences of kidnappings , herdsmen and farmers clashes in several communities which have led to high number of fatalities and loss of properties across the country is being addressed and the identified culprits and their sponsors shall be made to face the full wrath of the law. All the three tiers of Government are presently engaged with communities and religious organizations to restore peaceful co -existence among Nigerians. 8.I want to commend members of the Multinational Joint Task Force drawn from Niger, Benin , Chad, Cameroon and our own country in collaboration with the International Community who are assisting in the fight against insurgency in the North East I also commend the gallantry of members of our Armed Forces and other security agencies that have continued to provide security for lives and properties across the country. State and Local traditional authorities are helping with much needed intelligence in this fight against insurgency. 9.This administration is pained over the grievous loss of lives and properties occasioned by the carnage of insurgency and other forms of criminality in the country. I wish to assure Nigerians that we will not rest until all criminal elements and their sponsors are brought to justice. Government is boosting the capacity of our security agencies through recruitment of more personnel , training and procurement of modern equipment, enhancement of intelligence gathering as well as boosting their morale in the face of daunting challenges. 10. The Niger Delta Region has enjoyed relative peace through social inclusiveness and cooperation of the Elders and the good people of the region. Government is committed to implementing the comprehensive peace, security and development plan for the region. The environmental clean – up of the region which commenced with the launch in Bodo , Ogoni in June , 2016 is progressing satisfactorily . Furthermore farming assets are being revived and investors in cocoa and palm oil plantations are showing serious interest. 11. The second primary object of this Administration is to fight corruption headlong . Like I have always said , if we don’t kill corruption , corruption will destroy the country . Three years into this Administration, Nigerians and the international community have begun to applaud our policies and determination to fight corruption. We are more than ever before determined to win this war , however hard the road is. I therefore appeal to all well-meaning Nigerians to continue to support us in this fight . 12 . Various policy measures already put in place to stem the tide of corrupt practices are yielding remarkable results. Some of these key reform policies include: a . The Treasury Single Account ( TSA) has realized Billions of Naira being saved from maintenance fee payable to banks . N200 Billion has also been saved from elimination of ghost workers in public service. b. The Whistle -Blowing Policy has helped to recover over N500 Billion; c. The Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit set up with a mandate to validate controls , assess risks , prune personnel costs , ensure compliance with Public Financial Management reforms has helped to identify and remove over 52 ,000 ghost workers from the Federal Government MDAs Payroll; d.The Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme ( VAIDS ) aimed at expanding tax education and awareness has offered the opportunity for tax defaulters to regularise their status in order to enjoy the amnesty of forgiveness on overdue interest , penalties and the assurance of non -prosecution or subject to tax investigations. e. The Sovereign Wealth Fund project portfolio has been expanded with an injection of US $650 million so as to strengthen its investment in local infrastructure , power , health , re -construction of Abuja – Kano road , Lagos -Ibadan Expressway, East West Road ( Section V ) and the Mambilla Hydro -electric Power project as well as the construction of the 2 nd Niger Bridge. 13. The fight against corruption through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has resulted in recoveries of Billions of Naira, as well as forfeiture of various forms of assets. This alongside other efforts has improved Nigeria ’s international image and regional cooperation. 14. We have retained the services of one of the world’ s leading assets tracing firms to investigate and trace assets globally. This is in addition to the exploitation of provisions of existing Treaties, Conventions as well as Bilateral Agreements with Multilateral bodies and Nations. Nigeria has also signed Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements to ensure that there is no hiding place for fugitives. 15. This Administration has therefore focused on revamping the ailing economy it inherited in 2015. In 2016, Government executed an expansionary budget and developed the Strategic Implementation Plan. For the first time , 30 % of the budget was earmarked for capital expenditure which represents an upward review when compared with the 2015 budget. The SIP was followed by the development of a comprehensive medium term plan – the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017 – 2020. 16. The broad strategic objectives of the ERGP were to; Restore and sustain economic growth; Build a globally competitive economy ; and Invest in our people. The implementation of the ERGP has started yielding results . The National Bureau of Statistics reports that the economy grew by 1.95 % in 1 st quarter 2018, which is a good performance when viewed against – 0.91 in 1st quarter 2017 and -0 .67 % in 1 st quarter 2016 respectively. 17. Our foreign reserve has improved significantly to 47 .5 billion USD as of May , 2018 as against 29 .6 billion USD in 2015 . The inflationary rate has consistently declined every month since January, 2017. 18. Recently , Government conducted Focus Labs in three key sectors of the Economy namely , Agriculture & Transport , Manufacturing and Processing as well as Power and Gas . These have yielded significant prospects for investments and Job creation to the tune of US$ 22. 5 billion with a potential for creating more than 500 ,000 jobs by 2020. These investment generation initiatives are expected to increase capital inflows in the form of foreign direct investment. There is a high prospect that the cumulative investments from this first phase of the Labs will hit US$ 39 . 2 billion by 2025. 19. Under agriculture , Nigeria continues to pursue a strategic food security programme built around self-sufficiency and minimization of import dependency. As a result, rice importation from other countries has been cut down by 90 % which has a direct impact on foreign reserves. 20. The Social Investment Programmes ( SIP ) has been created as a means to graduating our citizens from poverty through capacity building, investment and direct support. The major strategic objective is to restore livelihood , economic opportunities and sustenance for the poor across the country. The SIP programmes and projects include: a. Home Grown School Feeding Programme – About 8 .2 million pupils are currently being fed from 24 States of the Federation with over 75 ,000 Catering Staff engaged under the programme. b. The Conditional Cash Transfer has so far recorded over 297 ,000 caregivers and being trained by 2 ,495 Community Facilitators in 21 states. Less privileged Nigerians are now being paid N5,000 monthly stipend in 9 pilot States of Bauchi,Borno , Cross River , Ekiti , Kwara , Kogi , Niger, Osun and Oyo. Eventually the scheme will cover all the 36 states of the federation including the FCT. c. Under the Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme – About 264 ,269 loans had been disbursed to 4 ,822 societies in the 36 States and FCT , while another 370 , 635 are awaiting release of funds. d. N-Power Job creation Scheme – is targeted at providing jobs for unemployed young graduates and has so far recruited 200 ,000 youths while the next batch of 300 ,000 have been selected , verified and would soon be deployed across the 36 States and the FCT. Furthermore, 20 ,000 non -graduate volunteers have also been selected to kick off the N – Build programme in collaboration with the National Automotive Design and Development Council and the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria. 21 . In the area of power generation , Nigerians from all parts of the country continue to report better power supply and less use of generators. This underscores the effectiveness of the methodical plan to deliver incremental and uninterrupted power supply to our homes, markets , offices and factories. 22. The country achieved 5 , 222.3 MW representing the highest peak of power generated onto the national grid and delivered to customers in December , 2017. With new facilities , repairs and rehabilitations by Government and private investors , generation capability now exceeds 7 ,500 MW. 23. This Administration is committed to lawful interventions to ensure the operators of the distribution business live up to expectations especially in the areas of distribution capacity, service delivery , collection efficiency, and metering to eliminate contentious estimated billing. 24. The Transportation Sector continues to undergo a series of reforms in order to sustain the international best practices and ensure safety and security. The nation’s major airports have witnessed reconstruction of runways, installation of navigational equipment and new international terminals due for commissioning in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Enugu. Bilateral Air Services Agreements between Nigeria and the Governments of other countries will significantly open up new flight routes. 25. As a result of strict regulatory and compliance policies, Nigeria retained her Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA) Category 1 status , after a routine international audit. Recently, a new Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility with capacity for aircraft C – checks and other comprehensive levels of maintenance was established in Lagos. This would save the country an estimated $90 m annually. 26. Giant strides have been recorded over the past three years to improve road transport infrastructure in all geopolitical zones of the country. 27. The Railway Sector has also received tremendous attention as this Administration is committed to the goal of linking all State capitals in the Federation by rail network to ease the movement of goods and passengers. 28. The Education Sector especially at tertiary level has continued to witness expansion in order to improve access to higher education by millions of youths in Nigeria. Over the last three years , Government has approved the establishment of 1 new Federal Polytechnic, granted licenses for the establishment of 4 State and 14 private -owned Universities as well as 12 private Polytechnics. 29. Government has also continued to support the implementation of various initiatives aimed at improving the quality of Basic Education delivery. Thus, it has ensured proper funding at the Basic Education level with the disbursement of N42.2 billion UBE Matching Grant to 26 States and the FCT, N851.5 million Special Education Grant disbursed to 23 States and private providers of Special Education and N2 .2 billion Teachers Professional Development Fund to 33 States and the FCT. 30. The Federal Government has continued to support fiscal sustainability at the sub- national governments through the implementation of the Budget Support Facility which was accompanied by the 22-point Fiscal Sustainability Plan . Thus , bailouts funds were made available to States to ease their fiscal challenges and other obligations including payment of salaries. 31. In addition , a total of 73 Ecological Fund projects for the control of gully erosion in different communities across all geopolitical zones have been completed in the last three years and are undergoing commissioning while 53 other projects are ongoing. The execution of these projects has generated 357 skilled jobs and 1,350 unskilled jobs during this period. 32. It is pertinent to also make mention of the immeasurable contributions of the Nigerian woman to national development and advancement of democracy, over the last three years. The government and people appreciate you all as mothers of our great country. 33. My dear country men and women , as we all celebrate our democratic experience, let us resolve to avoid hatred and intolerance ; we can only achieve our objectives in an atmosphere of harmony and peaceful co – existence. 34. Finally, the up -coming months will usher us into another season of general elections . Let me use this opportunity to urge us all to conduct ourselves, our wards and our constituencies with the utmost sense of fairness, justice and peaceful co -existence such that we will have not only hitch free elections but also a credible and violence free process. 35. In few days to come, I will be joined by many promising young Nigerians to sign into law the “Not Too Young to Run” Bill. 36. I thank you for your attention. 37. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria .
The democratic experience in Nigeria has definitely been a continuing learning curve, and the more lessons we learn at various active centres: people, platforms and processes, the richer our democracy, the stronger the society evolves to deliver a brighter future for the sovereign. The greatest residue of our democracy in the last 19 years (1999–2018), I think, is the manner in which our community has been enriched by lessons that have practically changed our lives. The democratic deficit is less than the gain; for us, democracy is essentially liberative and should endure. It is partly the reason why no matter the observed shortcomings of the five- month old #Buhari administration, the Nigerian people remain optimistic about their belief in the viability of the democratic option. They know that they have been empowered in such a manner that succeeding governments will always be held accountable to the electorate.
Thus, democracy has reframed the national dialogue and the people’s expectations. In 1999, with the return to civilian rule, the Nigerian people secured victory against a military establishment, which had exercised political authority, formally and informally, for about 33 years. They fought for six years to insist on democracy and the people’s right to choose. 19 years later, after many seasons of trial, we have reached a point in our romance with democracy, whereby no other form of government appeals to us. It is clear to every discerning person that only democratic rule is now acceptable to Nigerians. For it has shown us, how powerful we can possibly be. No other event has proven this to be true, more concretely than the last general elections. It should not be lost on Nigerians, the significance of the removal from office of an incumbent President.
In 2015, the power of the vote turned the Nigerian voter into the ultimate political authority, resulting in a greater sense of public ownership of the democratic enterprise. He or she knows that elected representatives can be held accountable through the ballot box. Democracy, building on the increased access to information and social interactions, has thus given Nigerians of voting age a voice and power that they never imagined possible.
Military figures still show up and occupy high positions, but they do so only through the democratic process and it is only a matter of time before the myth of the military strong man being fit for public office will be completely exploded and laid to rest. In reality, the military’s political authority is diminished as old soldiers seek legitimation through the people. It is a great achievement for Nigeria.
Secondly, in 2005, an attempt was made to bypass the Nigerian Constitution and extend to a third term, the tenure of the then incumbent President. This alleged plan against the people was to have been hatched with the imprimatur of the national legislature, but again the people rose against the planned subterfuge. Pierre Nkurunziza may have succeeded in executing the same anti-people ploy in Burundi, and Paul Kagame may be toying with it in Rwanda, but it is not the kind of folly that anyone will ever try again in Nigeria and hope to succeed. The people have learnt that those in positions of power at the highest level may not be trusted to respect the laws of the land or the oath of office they took. Having stopped one former President from transforming into a monarch, the phrase – third term remains in our political lexicon, a reminder of what is constitutionally unacceptable. And for Nigerians, “stayism”, sit- tightism” or the Biya disease is definitely risqué. When people are elected to high office, they will not be allowed to change the rules of the game to suit their own purposes.
Third lesson: Nigerians have become very conscious of the implications of the health of their leaders for the stability of the polity. They were taught that lesson during the three-year rule of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. At the time, the key subject was the mortality of the President. From that point onwards, any sign that a potential President could be nursing a terminal disease became a major campaign issue. President Yar’Adua’s death threw up other sub-lessons about the supremacy of the Constitution and the right of other Nigerians to aspire to the highest office in the land, but the people would have preferred to have him healthily alive and not to have a Presidency dominated by morbidity and remembered, and excused, largely on that score. It is therefore not surprising that in the last elections, physical fitness and mortality became key issues of campaign.
Fourth lesson: that any Nigerian child regardless of the manner of extraction can aspire to the highest office in the land. With his emergence as Nigerian President in 2010, Goodluck Jonathan laid to rest the myth that to occupy that office, the candidate must be a person of privilege. His parents were ordinary folk. He was himself like the guy next door; his life a replica of the life of any struggling Nigerian of his age who had attended university, gone through national service, hustled for employment and was like the rest of us. Hitherto, Nigerian leaders had elite connections or bearings and they wielded authority as if it was their birthright to do so. This claim to leadership birthright is now a subject of inquiry. It explains why in the last general elections, it became clear to all and sundry that there are now certain minimum standards being set nationwide in terms of personal attributes, experience and exposure with regard to public office. That is precisely the way our democracy has turned out: it has built confidence at all levels, and every Nigerian imagines himself to be a potential President. This is good, for as many people as imagine themselves to be national problem-solvers, the better for our community. However, President Jonathan was the first to prove the point that any citizen whoever he or she may be, can aspire to the highest office in the land and receive popular support.
Fifth lesson: when President Goodluck Jonathan conceded victory to President Buhari after the 2015 elections, he raised the moral bar of our democratic process. Nigerians have taken to heart the fact that the people have the power to change a sitting government at all levels and that the power of incumbency even at the centre is at the mercy of the electorate. These days, it is not unusual to find an average Nigerian of voting age holding an elected person accountable and swearing that any form of misconduct will be questioned. Good news! What prevails in Nigeria today therefore is not merely voter confidence; it is best described as voter arrogance or voter dictatorship. In Ekiti, they voted out a well educated, cerebral Governor and replaced him with someone with a popular touch, and they have stubbornly defended their choice. In Abuja, they replaced a young Ph.D holder with a retired old man, called back to serve and “restore.” With the way the Nigerian voter has seized power in the public sphere, only his or her wishes can prevail. And so in the future, with the Jonathan example and experience, no incumbent can hold on to power once the people have spoken. The Nigerian voter is further empowered by digital revolution. He votes on election day with his card, but he votes everyday with his phone, with his access to internet platforms, and he speaks loud and clear, honestly or mischievously depending on his or her constitution. The Nigerian people can no longer be ignored. Positive development? Certainly. But all of what we describe has been made possible by the strengthening of the electoral institutions and processes. It is hoped that successive administrations will see the need to protect and preserve the integrity of electoral bodies, and thereby deepen emergent confidence in their capacity to deliver free, fair and credible elections.
Sixth lesson, and this is probably the most important. Nigerians have learnt after 19 years of democratic rule not to place implicit trust in politicians without asking for accountability. They know that professional politicians are capable of lies, they deceive, they over-promise in order to secure their mandate, and also, that there are no true saints in power-ville. They are also learning that election campaign is different from governance, that governance is complex, politics is treacherous, and that politicians will say anything to win the votes and get into power. A corollary lesson: to resolve the cleavages that trouble Nigeria and render institutions ineffectual, government must be effective and our democracy must become more liberal and less of a mechanism for class formation and ethnic competition. Five months of reverse ratiocination by the Buhari administration should make that clear even to the most naive. Also Read >>Full Text Of President Buhari’s 2018 Democracy Day Speech
The people should also know that politicians have no differences on matters of self- interest; and they choose to exploit our many fault lines to achieve their objectives. They can be in this party today and move to the other party tomorrow – which we may see again in 2019. Nigerian politics is therefore not about ideology or principles; it is about power and who gets into the arena. But the people have also learnt one more thing: that change is possible, no matter the shape. And the power to effect change lies in their hands, for we have in 19 years managed to create a citizenry that is both deliberative and participative, whose notion of the state is that it must be affirmative, competent and constructive. This is a major victory for Nigeria and for democracy.
