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Urhobo Historical Society |
Muhammadu
Buhari:
Acceptance Statement as President-Elect of Nigeria
April 1, 2015
I am immensely grateful to God for this day and for this hour. I
feel truly honoured and humbled that
the Nigerian people have so clearly chosen me to lead them. The
official announcement from INEC was the moment the vast majority
of Nigerians had hoped and been waiting for. Today, history has
been made, and change has finally come. Your votes have changed
our national destiny for the good of all Nigerians.
INEC has announced that I, Muhammadu
Buhari, shall be your next president.
My team and I shall faithfully serve you. There shall no longer be
a ruling party again: APC will be your governing party. We shall
faithfully serve you. We shall never rule over the people as if
they were subservient to government.
Our long night has passed and the daylight of new democratic
governance has broken across the land. This therefore is not a
victory for one man or even one party. It is a victory for Nigeria
and for all Nigerians. Millions of you have worked for this day.
So many have risked life and livelihood; and others have died that
we may witness this moment.
And it is with a very heavy heart that I report many deaths and
injuries amidst the jubilations yesterday. We send our sincere
condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their
lives; and wish speedy recovery to those who suffered injuries. I
appeal to all our supporters to celebrate this victory with
prayers and reflection instead of wild jubilation.
May the souls of those who died rest in peace. Let us take a
moment of silence to honour all of
those whose sacrifices have brought us to this fine and historic
hour. As the results of the election have shown, their labor has
not been and will never be in vain. Democracy and the rule of law
will be re-established in the land.
Let us put the past, especially the recent past, behind us. We
must forget our old battles and past grievances�and learn to forge
ahead. I assure you that our government is one that will listen to
and embrace all.
I pledge myself and our in-coming administration to just and
principled governance. There shall be no bias against or
favouritism for any Nigerian based on
ethnicity, religion, region, gender or social status. I pledge
myself and the government to the rule of law, in which none shall
be so above the law that they are not subject to its dictates, and
none shall be so below it that they are not availed of its
protection.
You shall be able to go to bed knowing that you are safe and that
your constitutional rights remain in safe hands. You shall be able
to voice your opinion without fear of reprisal or
victimisation. My love and concern for
this nation and what I desire for it extends to all, even to those
who do not like us or our politics. You are all my people and I
shall treat everyone of you as my own.
I shall work for those who voted for me as well as those who voted
against me and even for those who did not vote at all. We all live
under one name as one nation: we are all Nigerians.
Some unfortunate issues about my eligibility have been raised
during the campaign. I wish to state that through devotion to this
nation, everything I have learned and done has been to enable me
to make the best possible contribution to public life. If I had
judged myself incapable of governing I would never have sought to
impose myself on it. I have served in various capacities and have
always put in my best.
But despite the rancour of the
elections, I extend a hand of friendship and conciliation to
President Jonathan and his team. I hereby wish to state that I
harbour no ill will against anyone.
Let me state clearly that President Jonathan has nothing to fear
from me. Although we may not agree on the methods of governing the
nation, he is a great Nigerian and still our president. He
deserves our support and permanent respect by virtue of the office
he has held. This is how an
honourable nation treats its servants
and conducts its affairs; and this is how Nigeria should be.
I look forward to meeting with President Jonathan in the days to
come to discuss how our teams can make the transition of
administrations as efficient as possible.
Here, I want to thank my party for selecting me as its candidate.
I thank our party leaders and members for the steadfast
contributions they made to bring our dream to fruition. I thank
INEC, the police and all other government agencies for performing
their tasks in a proper manner and for refusing to be induced to
undermine the election and the democratic process.
I also wish to thank religious Leaders, traditional leaders, the
media, labor unions, Civil Society
organisations,
organised private sector, youths and
students for their roles in this election.
I give special thanks to President Obama and his timely
intervention and support for peaceful and credible elections in
Nigeria and for sending Secretary John Kerry and other United
States officials. The European Union � especially the United
Kingdom, France, Germany and other nations that were actively
involved in ensuring the success of this election are equally
appreciated. My sincere thanks to the United Nations Secretary
General Mr Ban-Ki Moon. The
Commonwealth, China, India and other Asian and Gulf states are
also hereby appreciated. Finally our brothers in the African Union
and ECOWAS have truly and clearly shown and demonstrate their
commitment to our
democratisation process. Former
Presidents John Kuffour, Amos Sawyer,
Bakili
Muluzi and his team are well
appreciated. I must also add my appreciation for the role played
by civil societies, national and International observers,
other world leaders in ensuring that
Nigeria holds free and fair elections.
I assure all foreign governments that Nigeria will become a more
forceful and constructive player in the global fight against
terrorism and in other matters of collective concern, such as the
fight against drugs, climate change, financial fraud, communicable
diseases and other issues requiring global response. I want to
assure our fellow African nations that Nigeria will now stand as a
more constructive partner in advancing the matters of concern to
our continent, particularly with regard to economic development
and eradication of poverty.
Former head of state and
president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo,
General Yakubu Gowon,
Alh.
Shehu
Shagari, General Ibrahim
Babangida, Chief Ernest
Shonekan and General
Abdulsalami
Abubakar deserve commendations for
their statesmanship and words of caution and counsel for peace
during the tense moments of this electoral period.
Most of all, I thank the people of Nigeria for reposing their
confidence in me at this trying moment. Our nation wrestles many
challenges including insecurity, corruption,
economic decline. I pledge to give you
my best in tackling these problems.
The good people of Nigeria, your obligation does not end with
casting your ballot. I seek your voice and input as we tackle
these problems. This will not be a government democratic only in
form. It will be a government democratic in substance and in how
it interacts with its own people.
No doubt, this nation has suffered greatly in the recent past,
and its staying power has been tested to its limits by crises,
chief among which is insurgency of the
Boko Haram. There is no doubt that in
tackling the insurgency we have a tough and urgent job to do. But
I assure you that Boko Haram will soon
know the strength of our collective will and commitment to rid
this nation of terror, and bring back peace and normalcy to all
the affected areas. We shall spare no effort until we defeat
terrorism.
Furthermore, we shall strongly battle another form of evil that
is even worse than terrorism�the evil of corruption. Corruption
attacks and seeks to destroy our national institutions and
character. By misdirecting into selfish hands funds intended for
the public purpose, corruption distorts the economy and worsens
income inequality. It creates a class of unjustly-enriched people.
Such an illegal yet powerful force soon comes to undermine
democracy because its conspirators have amassed so much money that
they believe they can buy government. We shall end this threat to
our economic development and democratic survival. I repeat that
corruption will not be tolerated by this administration; and it
shall no longer be allowed to stand as if it is a respected
monument in this nation.
I ask you to join me in resolving these and the other challenges
we face. Along the way, there will be victories but there may also
be setbacks. Mistakes will be made. But we shall never take you
for granted; so, be rest assured that our errors will be those of
compassion and commitment not of
wilful neglect and indifference.
We shall correct that which does not work and improve that which
does. We shall not stop, stand or idle. We shall, if necessary
crawl, walk and run to do the job you have elected us to do.
I realise that the expectation of our
people today is as high as their commitment to change has been
strong and their belief in us unshaken. While we pledge to begin
doing our best without delay, we would like to appeal to them to
appreciate the gravity of our situation, so that we become more
realistic in our expectations.
We will govern for you and in your interests. Your vote was not
wasted. This is not the first time Nigerians have cast their votes
for us, and this is not the first time they have been counted; but
this is the first time that the votes have been allowed to count.
With the help of God, we pledge to do our utmost to bring forth
the Nigeria you seek.
Thank you for your patience and attention.
General Muhammadu
Buhari, GCFR
President-Elect, Federal Republic of Nigeria