President
Buhari, in line with the tradition of past Nigerian leaders, made an
Independence Day speech today, October 1, 2016.
See the full text of the speech
below:
Today – 1st October is a day of
celebration for us Nigerians. On this day, 56 years ago our people achieved the
most important of all human desires – freedom and independence. We should all
therefore give thanks and pray for our founding fathers without whose efforts
and toil we would not reap the bounties of today.
I know that uppermost in your minds
today is the economic crisis. The recession for many individuals and families
is real. For some It means not being able to pay school fees, for others it’s
not being able to afford the high cost of food (rice and millet) or the high
cost of local or international travel, and for many of our young people the
recession means joblessness, sometimes after graduating from university or
polytechnic.
I know how difficult things are, and
how rough business is. All my adult life I have always earned a salary and I
know what it is like when your salary simply is not enough. In every part of
our nation people are making incredible sacrifices.
But let me say to all Nigerians
today, I ran for office four times to make the point that we can rule this
nation with honesty and transparency, that we can stop the stealing of
Nigeria’s resources so that the resources could be used to provide jobs for our
young people, security, infrastructure for commerce, education and healthcare.
I ran for office because I know that
good government is the only way to ensure prosperity and abundance for all. I
remain resolutely committed to this objective.
I believe that this recession will
not last.
Temporary problems should not blind
or divert us from the corrective course this government has charted for our
nation. We have identified the country’s salient problems and we are working
hard at lasting solutions.
To re-cap what I have been saying
since the inception of this administration, our problems are security,
corruption and the economy, especially unemployment and the alarming level of
poverty.
On Security, we have made progress.
Boko Haram was defeated by last December – only resorting to cowardly attacks
on soft targets, killing innocent men, women and children.
Nigerians should thank our gallant
men of the Armed Forces and Police for rescuing large areas of the country
captured by insurgents. Now, residents in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, as
well as several neighbouring states go about their daily business in relative
safety. People can go to mosques, churches, market places in reasonable safety.
Commuters can travel between cities,
towns and villages without fear. Credit for this remarkable turn-round should
go to our Armed Forces, the Police, various sponsored and private vigilante
groups, the local traditional leaders. Security is a top to bottom concern and
responsibility.
Besides Boko Haram, we are
confronting other long-running security issues, namely herdsmen vs farmers,
cattle rustling, kidnappings. This Administration is firmly resolved to tackle
these challenges and to defeat them.
A new insurgency has reared up its
head in the shape of blowing up gas and oil pipelines by groups of Niger Delta
Militants. This Administration will not allow these mindless groups to hold the
country to ransom.
What sense is there to damage a gas
line as a result of which many towns in the country including their own town or
village is put in darkness as a result? What logic is there in blowing up an
export pipeline and as a result income to your state and local governments and
consequently their ability to provide services to your own people is reduced?
No group can unlawfully challenge
the authority of the Federal Government and succeed. Our Administration is
fully sympathetic to the plight of the good people of Niger Delta and we are in
touch with the State Governments and leaderships of the region. It is known
that the clean-up of the Ogoniland has started.
Infrastructural projects
financed by the Federal Government and post amnesty programme financing will
continue.
We have however, continued to
dialogue with all groups and leaders of thought in the region to bring lasting
peace.
Corruption is a cancer which must be
fought with all the weapons at our disposal. It corrodes the very fabric of
government and destroys society. Fighting corruption is Key, not only to
restoring the moral health of the nation, but also to freeing our enormous
resources for urgent socio-economic development.
In fighting corruption, however, the
government would adhere strictly by the rule of law. Not for the first time I
am appealing to the judiciary to join the fight against corruption.
The Third Plank in this
Administration’s drive to CHANGE Nigeria is re-structuring the economy.
Economies behaviour is cyclical. All countries face ups and downs. Our own
recession has been brought about by a critical shortage of foreign exchange.
Oil price dropped from an average of hundred USD per barrel over the last
decade to an average of forty USD per barrel this year and last.
Worse still, the damage perpetrated
by Niger Delta thugs on pipelines sometimes reduced Nigeria’s production to
below One million barrels per day against the normal two point two million
barrels per day. Consequently, the naira is at its weakest, but the situation
will stabilize.
But this is only temporary.
Historically about half our dollar export earnings go to importation of
petroleum and food products! Nothing was saved for the rainy days during the
periods of prosperity. We are now reaping the whirlwinds of corruption, recklessness
and impunity.
There are no easy solutions, but
there are solutions nonetheless and Government is pursuing them in earnest. We
are to repair our four refineries so that Nigeria can produce most of our
petrol requirements locally, pending the coming on stream of new refineries.
That way we will save ten billion USD yearly in importing fuel.
At the same time, the Federal
Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Bank have been mobilized to encourage
local production of rice, maize, sorghum, millet and soya beans. Our target is
to achieve domestic self-sufficiency in these staples by 2018.
Already farmers in thirteen out of
thirty six states are receiving credit support through the Central Bank of
Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Programme. Kebbi state alone this year is expected
to produce one million tonnes of locally grown rice, thanks to a favourable
harvest this year. As part of the 13 states, Lagos and Ogun are also starting
this programme. Rice alone for example costs Nigeria two billion USD to import.
The country should be
self-sufficient in basic staples by 2019. Foreign exchange thus saved can go to
industrial revival requirements for retooling, essential raw materials and
spare parts. It is in recognition of the need to re-invigorate agriculture in
our rural communities that we are introducing the LIFE programme.
Government recognises that
irrigation is key to modern agriculture: that is why the Ministries of
Agriculture and Water Resources are embarking on a huge programme of
development of lakes, earth dams and water harvesting schemes throughout the
country to ensure that we are no longer dependent on rain-fed agriculture for
our food requirements.
In addition, government is
introducing Water Resources Bill encompassing the National Water Resources
Policy and National Irrigation and Drainage Policy to improve management of
water and irrigation development in the country. We are reviving all the twelve
River Basin Authorities, namely;
I. Anambra – Imo
II. Benin – Owena
III. Chad Basin
IV. Cross River
V. Hadejia – Jama’are
VI. Lower Benue
VII. Lower Niger
VIII. Niger Delta
IX. Ogun – Osun
X. Sokoto – Rima
XI. Upper Benue
XII. Upper Niger
The intention is eventually to fully
commercialise them to better support crop production, aqua –culture and
accelerated rural development.
This Administration is committed to
the revival of Lake Chad and improvement of the hydrology and ecology of the
basin. This will tune in with efforts to rehabilitate the thirty million people
affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad basin countries.
The second plank in our economic
revival strategy is centred on the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing. The
Ministry will lead and oversee the provision of critical infrastructure of
power, road transport network and housing development.
Power generation has steadily risen
since our Administration came on board from three thousand three hundred and
twenty four megawatts in June 2015, rising to a peak of five thousand and
seventy four megawatts in February 2016.
For the first time in our history
the country was producing five thousand megawatts. However, renewed militancy
and destruction of gas pipelines caused acute shortage of gas and constant drop
in electricity output available on the grid.
There has been during the period
June 2015 to September 2016 big improvement in transmission capacity from five
thousand five hundred megawatts to the present seven thousand three hundred
megawatts.
There were only two system collapses
between June and December 2015, but due to vandalism by Niger Delta militants
the over-all system suffered 16 system collapses between March and July 2016
alone. As I have said earlier, we are engaging with responsible leadership in
the region to find lasting solutions to genuine grievances of the area but we will
not allow a tiny minority of thugs to cripple the country’s economy.
In the meantime, government is going
ahead with projects utilizing alternate technologies such as hydro, wind, and
solar to contribute to our energy mix. In this respect, the Mambilla Hydro
project, after many years of delay is taking off this year. Contract
negotiations are nearing completion with Chinese firms for technical and
financial commitments.
The project is to be jointly
financed by Nigeria and the Chinese-Export-Import Bank. In addition, fourteen
Solar Power Projects have had their power purchase agreements concluded. Hence
the plan to produce one thousand two hundred megawatts of solar electricity for
the country would be realized on schedule.
And in line with the objective of
government to complete all abandoned projects across the country, the Rural
Electrification Agency’s projects needing completion are provided for in the
2016 Budget. Bringing electricity to rural areas will help farmers, small scale
and cottage industries to integrate with the national economy.
Roads Construction and
Rehabilitation has taken off. The sum of twelve billion naira was allocated to
this sector in the 2015 Budget, not enough even to pay interest on outstanding
unpaid claims.
Notwithstanding the budgetary
constraints, the current budget allocated two hundred and forty billion naira
for highway projects against twelve billion naira in 2015. Many contractors who
have not been paid for three years have now remobilized to sites. Seven hundred
and twenty point five billion naira has so far been released this budget year
to capital projects.
The Ministry of Power, Works and
Housing has received one hundred and ninety seven point five billion naira.
Work on the following highways has now resumed.
1. Dualization of Calabar – Itu Road
in Cross River/Akwa Ibom States.
2. Dualization of Lokoja – Benin
Road, Ehor – Benin city, Edo State.
3. Re-construction of outstanding
sections of Benin – Shagamu Express way, Edo/Ogun States.
4. Expansion works on Lagos – Ibadan
Dual carriageway, Ogun/Oyo States
5. Rehabilitation of Onitsha – Enugu
Expressway, Anambra/Enugu States.
6. Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
of Enugu – Port Harcourt Dual carriageway, Abia/Rivers States.
7. Rehabilitation of Hadejia – Nguru
Road, Jigawa State.
8. Dualization of Kano – Katsina
Road, Kano State.
9. Dualization of Kano – Maiduguri
Road, Borno State.
10. Dualization of Azare – Potiskum
Road, Azare – Sharuri Road, Bauchi State.
11. Rehabilitation of Ilorin – Jebba
– Mokwa – Birnin Gwari Road, Kwara State.
12. Construction of Oju/Lokoja –
Oweto Bridge over River Benue, Benue State.
Other major highways are in the
queue for rehabilitation or new construction.
Already contractors have recalled
about nine thousand workers laid off and Government expects that several
hundreds of thousands of workers will be reengaged in the next few months as
our public works programme gains momentum.
On railways, we have provided our
counterpart funding to China for the building of our standard gauge Lagos -Kano
railway. Meanwhile, General Electric is investing two point two billion USD in
a concession to revamp, provide rolling stock, and manage the existing lines,
including the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Line. The Lagos-Calabar railway will also
be on stream soon.
We have initiated the National
Housing Programme. In 2014 four hundred million naira was voted for Housing. In
2015 nothing. Our first budget this year is devoting thirty five point six
billion naira. Much of the house building will be private – sector led but
Government is initiating a pilot housing scheme of two thousand eight hundred
and thirty eight units uniformly spread across the 36 states and FCT.
We expect these units to be
completed within 4 – 6 months. These experimental Nigeria House model Units
will be constructed using only made in Nigeria building materials and
components. This initiative is expected to reactivate the building materials
manufacturing sector, generate massive employment opportunities and develop
sector capacity and expertise.
The programmes I have outlined will
revive the economy, restore the value of the naira and drive hunger from our
land.
Abroad, Nigeria’s standing has
changed beyond belief in the last 18 months. We are no longer a pariah state.
Wherever I go, I have been received with un-accustomed hospitality. Investors
from all over the world are falling over themselves to come and do business in
Nigeria. This government intends to make business environment more friendly because
we can not develop ourselves alone.
All countries, no matter how
advanced, welcome foreign investments to their economy. This is the essence of
globalization and no country in the 21st century can be an island. Our reforms
are therefore designed to prepare Nigeria for the 21st century.
Finally, let me commend Nigerians
for your patience, steadfastness and perseverance. You know that I am trying to
do the right things for our country.
Thank you and may God bless our
country.
