President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday said the only route to national development in the country is democracy.
The President stated this during the 62nd anniversary live broadcast to celebrate the Independence Day. Nigeria is 62 as a sovereign state.
The President recounted his attempts, failures and eventual success while leading the country. He attributed his achievements to the support of Nigerians.
He added that when he was first elected, he had told Nigerians that the tasks before him were daunting but surmountable.
“Conscious that today’s address would be my last on an Independence Day as your President; I speak to the millions of Nigerians, who believed in me, propelled and stood by me in my quest to bequeath a country where all citizens have equal opportunities to achieve their lives desires in a peaceful atmosphere.
“I am honoured to say that my story in the annals of Nigeria’s history is no household secret. My various attempts, failures and eventual success in being elected as a Democratic President in 2015 was made possible by the majority of Nigerians,” Buhari said
“When you elected me, I readily acknowledged that the tasks before me were daunting but surmountable because of the growing national consensus that our chosen route to national development was democracy.
“This democracy was to be anchored on a clear understanding, application and the principles of separation of powers supported by a reformed public service that is more effective.
“I then pledged to Improve the Economy, Tackle Corruption and Fight Insecurity and this was further strengthened by my commitment to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years as the central plank of my second term in 2019.”
Buhari further stressed that his government, with the various mechanisms put in place, has made it possible for him and his team to record success in some critical areas of governance.
Buhari said the institution was strengthened for tackling corruption and also cultivated international support which aided the repatriation of huge sums of money illegally kept outside the country.
“We strengthened the Institutions for tackling corruption and also cultivated international support, which aided the repatriation of huge sums of money illegally kept outside the country,”
“The increasing number of prosecutions and convictions, with associated refunds of large sums of money is still ongoing. Furthermore, we would continue to block opportunities that encourage corrupt practices,”he said
He used the opportunity of independence anniversary to appeal to the Academic Staff Union of Universities to return to their various classrooms assuring them to see to their needs soonest
“I must confess that I am very pained by the recurring disruptions to our tertiary education system and I am using this Independence Day celebration to re-iterate my call for the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to return to the classroom while assuring them to deal with their contending issues within the limits of the scarce resources available. This administration has made appreciable progress in redressing these issues that have been lingering for over eleven years.
“The Federal Government will continue to mobilize resources both internationally and nationally towards funding education to ensure that our citizens are well educated and skilled in various vocations in view of the fact that education is a leading determinant of economic growth and employment generation.”
He continued,”we have also improved our health facilities, especially during and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which attracted commendation of the global community.
“As you are aware, Nigeria was one of the countries that defied global predictions of the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic because of our resilience, commitment and passion with which we individually and collectively managed the pandemic.
“This administration embarked on addressing critical ecological challenges across the country in order to mitigate the impact of Climate Change manifesting in the form of flood, soil erosion, desertification, air pollution amongst others.”
Buhari assured Nigerians that every Nigerian will feel the impact of infrastructural developments goin on across the country which he described as the key to Nigeria’s economic growth.
He called on every individual to rise up to the various challenges facing the country adding that he was called to serve along with his team and with the support of Nigerians and God’s intervention he has created a better Nigeria than the way he met it.