The president spoke in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, last week after the inauguration of Oriental Energies Resource Ltd Hanger, Muhammadu Indimi Distance Learning Centre and an International Conference Centre donated to the University of Maiduguri by business mogul, Alhaji Muhammadu Indimi.
President Muhammadu Buhari said his administration would keep giving its best for the development of the country until May, 2023, reiterating that he would handover as stipulated by the constitution.
President Buhari also commissioned the Tijjani Bolori Memorial Secondary School and the first fly-over in Borno state, Customs Roundabout (3.5km) with a stretch of 10 km Gamboru Ngala road constructed by the state government.
The president said, “I know I swore by the Constitution, and I will leave in 17 months. I pray that the person that will take over from us will also follow the targets of securing the country and building the economy. Without securing the country, you cannot grow the economy”.
President Buhari said Nigerians should appraise the performance of the administration based on what the situation was on security, economy and corruption before he came in, and where it is now.
“We have a great country,” he said, “and we thank God for giving us so much resources. But we need to develop our resources.”
The president noted that development would be more sustainable by empowering the people. On security in the North West, he said it was sad that the people who lived together, sharing same culture and outlook for a long time would start stealing, kidnapping and killing one another.
The president said the military would come down hard on the North-west to stabilise the situation, having procured more hardwares.
“I am highly impressed with what I have seen at this state-of-the-art Centre for Distance Learning and Auditorium sited here, the University of Maiduguri. I am told that this international conference hall has 1,300 seats. The high quality standard of this edifice is major contribution by Alhaji Muhammadu Indimi.
“This intervention will benefit not only students from Borno and the North-east but also students from all parts of Nigeria. For the Oriental Energy Resources Hangar which I commissioned, it will welcome and offer support services to aircraft and pilots involved with Humanitarian Air Services,” the president noted.
President Buhari also commended Prof. Babagana Zulum, Governor of Borno state, for the work he had done in two years, noting that he was in the state earlier in June to inaugurate developmental projects.In the same vein, President Buhari said Nigerians deserve a country that will guarantee the citizens are free from fear and harassment.
In a statement issued on Friday, the president recalled his trip to Maiduguri where he addressed officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces serving in Operation Hadin Kai – a military operation aimed at fighting insurgency in the North-east.
He equally commended the Armed Forces for their selfless services to the nation, noting that some have ended up paying the supreme price by laying their lives for the peace and security of the country.
“In my address to the troops in Maiduguri yesterday, I charged them to stay focused to achieve our strategic goal of defeating ALL the adversaries of our nation, and restoring economic viability to the North-East, North-West, and all other parts of the country.
“Nigerians truly deserve a country where they are free to go about their activities without fear or harassment. Let me also restate how grateful I am, as Commander-in-Chief, and how grateful the entire nation is, for the selfless sacrifices of our Armed Forces, which in some cases have entailed paying the supreme price.”
The president reiterated his administration’s commitment to prioritising the welfare of the nation’s Armed Forces, assuring that their sacrifices will never be in vain.
He emphasised that the federal government’s efforts in stabilising the security situation in the country should never be in doubt, adding that “all hands will continue to be on deck until the evils of insurgency and banditry and all forms of criminality are tamed.”
Buhari stated, “I know very well the importance of security as the foundation for growth and prosperity. Without securing the country, you cannot grow the economy.
“It is truly sad to see, in the North-west, people who have lived together for centuries and who share the same culture and outlook, resort to stealing, kidnapping and killing one another. But let me assure you that the progress we are seeing in the North-East, in terms of security, will be replicated in the North-west.
“Our military and other security agencies will certainly stabilize the situation, there is no doubt about that. This is why we are investing heavily in procuring hardware and equipment, to strengthen our efforts. Some of this hardware have already arrived, while others are being awaited.”
Flowing from the above, it is crystal clear that President Buhari means well for Nigeria and Nigerians. The president’s oft-assurances to bequeath a nation free from insecurity and high on the global development index in 2023, when his constitutional eight-year tenure would elapse, should be appreciated by all and sundry.
What the president needs at this point of the nation’s trajectory is the unalloyed support of the citizentry to enable him bequeath a legacy of a prosperous nation.
