MOSYLOADEDBLOGNEWS
BROADCAST BY PRESIDENT
MUHAMMADU BUHARI ON OCTOBER 1ST,
2017
My dear Nigerians ,
October 1 st remains a special date for
all Nigerians as this marks the day
when we attained one of the most
precious of human desires — freedom.
Over the years the country has gone
through trials and tribulations, but
October 1 st is always a day for
celebrations.
It is a day for thanks giving , reflection
and re - dedication .
It is also a day for remembrance . We
should remind ourselves of the recent
journey from 1999 – 2015 , when our
country happily returned to
democratic rule .
However , in spite of oil prices being
an average of $ 100 per barrel and
about 2 .1 m barrels a day, that great
piece of luck was squandered and the
country ’s social and physical
infrastructure neglected .
We were left with no savings and huge
infrastructure deficit .
The APC Government’s Campaign
rallying cry to restore security , re -
balance the economy and fight
corruption was not all rhetoric.
The country must first be secured . The
economy must be re - balanced so that
we do not depend on oil alone . We
must fight corruption which is
Nigeria’ s Number One Enemy. Our
Administration is tackling these tasks
in earnest .
In the past two years , Nigeria has
recorded appreciable gains in political
freedom. A political Party at the Centre
losing elections of State Governor,
National Assembly seat and even State
Assemblies to the opposition parties is
new to Nigeria . Added to these are
complete freedom to associate , to hold
and disseminate opinions. Such
developments clearly attest to the
country ’s growing political
development . But like all freedoms,
this is open to abuse .
Recent calls on re - structuring , quite
proper in a legitimate debate , has let
in highly irresponsible groups to call
for dismemberment of the country . We
can not and we will not allow such
advocacy .
As a young Army Officer , I took part
from the beginning to the end in our
tragic civil war costing about 2 m lives ,
resulting in fearful destruction and
untold suffering . Those who are
agitating for a re - run were not born
by 1967 and have no idea of the
horrendous consequences of the civil
conflict which we went through.
I am very disappointed that
responsible leaders of these
communities do not warn their hot -
headed youths what the country went
through. Those who were there should
tell those who were not there, the
consequences of such folly .
At all events, proper dialogue and any
desired constitutional changes should
take place in a rational manner , at the
National and State Assemblies. These
are the proper and legal fora for
National debate, not some lop - sided ,
un - democratic body with pre -
determined set of objectives.
Government is keeping up the
momentum of dialogue with
stakeholders in the Niger Delta to keep
the peace . We intend to address
genuine grievances of the
communities .
Government is grateful to the
responsible leadership of those
communities and will pursue lasting
peace in the Niger Delta.
SECURITY
On security , Nigerians must be
grateful to our gallant Armed Forces
for rolling back the frontiers of Boko
Haram’ s terrorism, defeating them
and reducing them to cowardly attacks
on soft and vulnerable targets .
Nigeria is grateful to its neighbours
and the international community for
the collective efforts to defeat this
world- wide menace of terrorism .
Not even the most organized and most
equipped police and security forces in
the world can escape the menace of
modern day terrorism, as we have
seen in recent years in Europe and
other parts of the world.
But we are not letting up . Our Armed
Forces in an effort to enhance the
operational capability of troops of
OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE have
established Mobile Strike Teams in the
North East . These will ensure the final
push to wipe out the remnants of Boko
Haram.
In addition , through targeted air
strikes most of the leadership and
identified logistics bases and routes of
the insurgents have been neutralized.
The Armed Forces have established a
Naval presence in the Lake Chad Basin
as part of the coordinated military
efforts to curtail the movements or re -
emergence of the sect in the area.
Government is working round the
clock to ensure release of the
remaining Chibok girls, as well as
other persons in Boko Haram
captivity. Government will continue to
support the Armed Forces and other
security agencies to fight not only
terrorism, but kidnapping, armed
robberies, herdsmen / farmers violence
and to ensure peace , stability and
security in our country .
ECONOMY
With respect to the economy , the
Government has remained pro- active
in its diversification policy . The
Federal Government’s agricultural
Anchor Borrowers Programme, which I
launched in November 2015 , has been
an outstanding success with :
N 43 . 92 billion released
through the CBN and 13
participating institutions ,
200 , 000 small holder
farmers from 29 states of the
federation benefitting ,
233 , 000 hectares of farmland
cultivating eight
commodities , namely Rice,
Wheat , Maize , Cotton , soya -
beans, Poultry, Cassava and
Groundnuts , in addition to
fish farming .
These initiatives have been
undertaken in close collaboration with
the states . I wish to commend the
efforts of the Governors of Kebbi,
Lagos, Ebonyi and Jigawa States for
their support to the rice and fertilizer
revolutions.
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