By Muhammadu Buhari

In His Farewell Address Delivered On 28th May, 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari Insists He Is “Leaving Nigeria Better In 2023, Than He Found It In 2015”. Full Text Of Speech

My fellow Nigerian brothers, sisters and friends of Nigeria.

2. I address you today, in my last assignment as a democratically elected President of our great and well-endowed nation, with a deep sense of gratitude to God, a great deal of appreciation to the Nigerian people and a modest sense of fulfilment.

3. Today we mark and celebrate another peaceful transition of power from one elected government to another in our steady march to improve and sustain Nigeria’s democracy.

4. This year we witnessed the most keenly contested Presidential Elections since the first Republic and this demonstrates that our democracy is getting better and more entrenched with each election.

5. We must, as a nation, improve and sustain gains we make in the electoral process, on an incremental basis for Nigeria to take its rightful place among Nations.

6. Our democracy provides for, allows and encourages seeking redress for perceived injustices, enabling some candidates and political parties that did not agree with the results to go to court.

7. Irrespective of the outcome of the various cases, I urge all parties involved to accept the decision of our courts and join hands to build a better Nigeria.

8. 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.

9. In the course of the campaigns, we had argued and disagreed on how to make Nigeria better but we never disagreed or had any doubts that Nigeria has to be better.

10. As your President, I call on all of us to bring to bear the strength of our individualism, the power of our unity, the convictions of our beliefs to make Nigeria work better and together with one spirit and one purpose.

11. To my brother, friend and fellow worker in the political terrain for the past ten years – Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu -, I congratulate you on the realisation of your dream, which was propelled by a burning passion to put Nigeria amongst the leading nations of the world.

12. You have indeed worked for this day and God has crowned your efforts. I have no doubt that your passion for excellence, reliance on competence, fairness in relationships, commitment to equity, loyalty to the country and desire for Nigeria to be globally relevant would come through for you, under God’s guidance, as you lead our country to levels higher that I am leaving.

13. You are the best candidate among all the contestants and Nigerians have chosen well.

14. The last eight years have been an exciting experience in my desire and commitment to see a Nigeria in which public goods and services are available, and accessible within a united, peaceful and secure nation.

15. Fellow Nigerians, on the strength of your overwhelming support for me and my political party, 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. The Nigerian economy has become more resilient due to the various strategies put in place to ensure that our economy remained afloat during cases of global economic downturns.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. The private sector proved a strong partner in our drive to build a resilient and sustainable economy as evidenced by the growing number of turn-key projects in various sectors of the economy.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. Our battle to ensure that all Nigerians live in a safe and secure environment has achieved considerable results. 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.

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. 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.

30. I did pursue this commitment relentlessly, in spite of the expected push back. I am happy that considerable progress had been made in repatriating huge sums of money back to the country and also taken over properties illegally acquired from our common wealth.

31. 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.

32. On the international scene, Nigeria’s influence continues to grow as exemplified by notable Nigerians occupying headship and leadership positions in renowned global bodies.

33. Our democracy is built on and continues to thrive on the principles of separation of powers. The leadership and members of the National Assembly deserve my appreciation for their patriotism which did not detract from their roles as a check to the executive arm.

34. I also want to use this opportunity to express my appreciation to a good number of Nigerians who provided their support and encouragement to help me navigate the exciting journey in moving Nigeria forward.

35. I cannot and will not forget the millions who prayed for me during my illness in my first term of office. I am constantly praying for you and for Nigeria to thrive in peace.

36. As I retire home to Daura, Katsina State, I feel fulfilled that we have started the Nigeria Re-Birth by taking the initial critical steps and I am convinced the in-coming administration will quicken the pace of this walk to see a Nigeria that fulfils its destiny to be a great nation.

37. I am confident that I am leaving office with Nigeria better in 2023 than in 2015.
38. I thank you all. And may God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

By Charles Igbo

As Nigeria inaugurates a new President on Monday, May 29, 2023, to run its affairs for the next four years, the Anglican Archbishop of the Owerri Ecclesiastical Province/ Bishop of Okigwe South, His Grace, Most Revd.(Dr) David Onuoha, has advised caution.

The revered Clergyman is of the strong opinion that inaugurating President-elect, Bola Tinubu,  the President, while there are still serious Court cases challenging his election is not only unjust, but a deliberate stoking of trouble.

Archbishop Onuoha, who described the 2023 General Elections as a scam, and crowned the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,  Professor Mahmood Yakubu, “Nigeria’s number one enemy”, called on the National Assembly to invoke the “doctrine of necessity”, in order to save Nigeria from crisis. To the Archbishop, it is not late to do so. It is  “better be late than the late.”

Onuoha expressed these strong views in his Presidential Address delivered on 20th May, 2023, at the “3rd Session of the 10th Synod” of the Diocese of Okigwe South, held at St Paul’s Cathedral, Ezeoke Nsu, which theme was The Desolation On The Moral Altar Of Our Society: A Plea For Repentance, taken from the book of St Mark 13:14.

Onuoha: “It is very necessary for the National Assembly to rise up now as they did, 13 years ago, with a doctrine of necessity that will allow for the disposal of all election petitions before swearing in. To go on with the swearing-in of the ‘President-select’ will rubbish whatever gains already made in the march towards a better Nigeria.”

He decried the role played by Professor Yakubu, and lamented the “deceit  falsehood and impunity employed in this particular election, especially, that of the President”, and dismissed it “as unprecedented in the history of nations.”

He noted that in saner climes, the INEC Chairman would have been arrested and charged for the sabotage of Nigeria’s Electoral Process.

For an exercise into which, Onuoha pointed out, was sunk a whopping N400b, the Archbishop noted that: “INEC, to the embarrassment, astonishment and bewilderment of all, kidnapped the future and hope for a better Nigeria.

“The deceit, falsehood and impunity employed in this particular election, especially, that of the President is unprecedented in the history of nations. The INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, should be declared the number one enemy of Nigeria.

“I recommend a National Award of GEFR, i.e., Grand Enemy of the Federal Republic for him.”

However, the Archbishop  commended Nigerians for their maturity in not taking to the streets for a violent protest. But, he passionately, appealed to Judicial Officers,  to perform their duties with fairness now that the petitions against the Election are before them.

He said: “We commend Nigerians for the maturity in handling the aftermath of the election by rejecting the option of demonstration and violence and choosing to be civil. Now that the matters are before the Court, we passionately appeal to our Judicial Officers to endeavour to be fair and just in handling the petitions before them. We expect that falsehood will be exposed and truth upheld.”

Onuoha also lamented the fate which befell the Igbo in Lagos, where they were denied the right to vote for the Candidate of their choice, and have, since then been the victims of persecution and economic sabotage.

His words: “The 2023 General elections recorded an all-time low in the persecution and victimisation of Ndigbo. That people were prevented from exercising their rights to vote for a candidate of their choice is a shame to Nigeria as a nation. Not only that, Yoruba people whose mothers are Igbo, also suffered the same experience.

“Since after the elections, Igbos have been made to pass through hell as they became victims of physical trauma and economic loss, arising from targeting their business.”

He found the silence exhibited by  both the Federal and Lagos State Governments on the fate of the Igbo bewildering.

Following, are excerpts from the address which most people say is not only deep,  but an intellectual harvest.

“We congratulate Nigerians for exercising their rights to choose their leaders in the last general elections that gulped nearly N400b of tax payers’ money.

“However, despite all the promises and assurances, INEC, to the embarrassment, astonishment and bewilderment of all, kidnapped the future and hope for a better Nigeria. The deceit, falsehood and impunity employed in this particular election, especially, that of the President, is unprecedented in the history of nations. An ample opportunity to get things right and reposition Nigeria for greatness was sacrificed on the altar of greed, selfishness and impunity.

“The INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, should be declared the number one enemy of Nigeria. I recommend a National Award of GEFR,  i.e.,Grand Enemy of the Federal Republic, for him. In saner climes, he would have either resigned or be arrested and charged for sabotage of the Nigerian Electoral Process.

“We commend Nigerians for the maturity in handling the aftermath of the election by rejecting the option of demonstration and violence and choosing to be civil.

“Now that the matters are before the Court, we passionately appeal to our Judicial Officers to endeavour to be fair and just in handling the petitions before them. We expect that falsehood will be exposed and truth upheld.

“While we congratulate all those who truly won and were returned elected, we pity those who robbed others of their victory. According to the Prophet Isaiah: Woe unto them that call evil good and good, evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight ( Isaiah 5: 2, 21).

“It may be necessary at this stage to find out why politicians would always be too happy going to Court after perpetrating obvious electoral fraud. The usual slang, : ‘declare me winner and let him go to Court’, indicate a major flaw in our electoral jurisprudence. This is because the Court, in most cases, has confirmed those electoral fraud and manipulations thereby giving a stamp of authority to illegality.

“We are worried that the high level of  impunity witnessed in our society today, especially, in electoral matters, portents grave danger to our nation if not arrested urgently.

“The civil disobedience that might follow any attempt to stamp judicial authority to illegality on the scam the 2023 Presidential election turned out to be will not be good for anyone. We must always remember that the factors that make oppression possible also make struggle for liberation inevitable.

“We, therefore, call for a review of our laws with a view to removing any provision that may encourage, and embolden wrong doers. Judicial Officers must be bold and courageous in the discharge of their duties to save the society from anarchy.

“It is very necessary for the National Assembly to rise up now as they did, 13 years ago, with a doctrine of necessity that will allow for disposal of all election petitions before swearing in. To go on with the swearing-in of the ‘President-select’ will rubbish  whatever gains already made in the march towards a better Nigeria.

“We are neither for any particular Candidate nor against anybody. All we are saying is that Nigerians must be allowed to have a say in who become their leaders, and their wishes freely expressed through the ballot must be allowed to stand.

“A free and fair election will not only make for confidence in the Nigerian project, but will also reduce post election litigation and acrimonious and their attendant cost to the nation.

“We call on all people of goodwill in Nigeria, especially, the youths to avoid giving in to frustration and disappointment. They should rather be steadfast in the battle to redeem this nation. No sacrifice will be too much in changing the status quo that has impeded and hindered the progress and development of this nation.

“The 2023 General elections recorded an all-time low in the persecution and victimisation of Ndigbo. That people were prevented from exercising their rights to vote for a candidate of their choice is a shame to Nigeria as a nation. Not only that, Yoruba people whose mothers are Igbo, also suffered the same experience.

“Since after the elections, Igbos have been made to pass through hell as they became victims of physical trauma and economic loss, arising from targeting their business establishments for arson. The silence of both the Federal and Lagos State Governments and their refusal to address this sad development is as incriminating as it is regrettable.

“The Governors of the States in Igboland as well as Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide should take steps to ensure that the Igbo in Lagos and, indeed, every part of Nigeria, and their properties are protected.”

By Ayodele Oni

Activities lined up for the inauguration of the president elect, Bola Tinubu continued on Saturday with a lecture delivered by former Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta.

President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the lecture, spoke on the significance of democracy in driving Nigeria’s sustainable development.

The lecture, which was held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, Tinubu highlighted the indispensable role of democracy as the cornerstone for the nation’s progress and prosperity, emphasizing the vital nature of democracy in advancing the nation’s interests.

The President-elect address was delivered by the Vice President-elect,  Kashim Shettima, who used the opportunity to call on Nigerians to stand together with the incoming administration to birth a better country.

President-elect Tinubu, in his speech, restated his commitment to the ideals of democracy as the best form of government.

“Distinguished guests, democracy is more than a system of governance; it is the very lifeblood that empowers a nation to flourish and thrive,” the President-elect said.

“We stand at the precipice of a new era, where the ideals of democracy will guide our path towards sustainable development.”

Tinubu while embracing his African identity, reaffirmed his love for the continent.

He also recognized the collective efforts of Nigerians and Africans in shaping their democratic political cultures and institutions, tailored to the unique conditions and challenges faced by their societies.

He articulated the essence of democracy, emphasizing that it transcends being a mere form of government.

“Democracy, my fellow countrymen, is not only a political system; it is a way of life.

“It embodies a distinctive code of thought and conduct, demanding the utmost integrity and self-improvement from leaders.”

Stating the paradoxical nature of democracy, the President-elect noted that while it guarantees freedom, its survival hinges on responsible and measured use of that freedom, adding that democracy, as an ever-evolving concept, empowers the majority to express their will while safeguarding the fundamental interests of the minority.

“Our democracy is not an abstract ideal; it is a practical vessel that will propel our nation to new heights in every facet of our collective existence.”

Drawing insights from Nigeria’s national experience, he acknowledged the merits of democracy even in its imperfect manifestations, stressing that it surpasses the most perfect dictatorship in terms of justice, humanity, and productivity.

The keynote speaker, former President Kenyatta appealed to the incoming President of Nigeria to unite the country irrespective of ethnic, political and religious  cleavages that may exist.

“The contest is now over and the hardwork of building a prosperous and unified Nigeria now begins.

“Upon assuming the office of President, you would be wise to transcend from tactical politics of an election and assume your role as Nigeria’s vision bearer.”

He also mentioned the importance of fostering open forums for discussion and debate, where the best ideas and policies can enter the national discourse and capture the imagination of the people.

While making his remarks at the lecture, outgoing President Buhari noted that the inauguration lecture took participants on a journey of introspection on the imperatives of democratic governance and nation-building and that the various challenges that confront the socio-political fabrics of Nigeria were highlighted.

“We have learnt that democracy is not just a system of governance. It is a way of life.

“True democracy is when voice of people is heard. Our nations progress rest on inclusivity, unity and not leaving any citizen behind and by ensuring every citizen enjoy dividends of good governance.

“We must heed the lessons of this lecture and translate them into action. We must fight against corruption in all its form. We must remain united. Our diversity is our strength.

“We can overcome our differences and forge a common cause towards progress.”