President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said that he would work very hard
to sustain the current goodwill his government had received at home and
abroad.
The President, who was reacting to a question after his address at the
United States Institute for Peace, in Washington DC on how he intended to
leverage on the enormous goodwill being enjoyed by his administration and
meet the huge expectations of the people, said despite his perceived
slowness and the reality of lack of resources, he would work very hard “so
that people will see and believe that we are trying and can deliver and
hopefully become less critical.”
President Buhari, while acknowledging the huge challenges confronting his
administration such as the crash in the price of crude oil, its theft,
pipeline vandalisation in the Niger Delta, hostage taking and insecurity
in the North East, restated his determination to sustain the goodwill by
working very hard. “And I believe I will succeed,” he declared
emphatically.
In his main speech to the distinguished audience, the President also
reaffirmed that, “despite our current challenges, Nigeria’s commitment to
good governance, anti-corruption, democracy and security of lives and
property remains firm. Similarly, I must reaffirm that despite the current
challenges that we face domestically, we are ready and willing to face our
duties…Fixing Nigeria’s problems as formidable as they are is the
responsibility of Nigerians. The international community can only assist,
but the hard work belongs to Nigerians and their government. I will as
President, lead from the front, but all Nigerians, including the
opposition parties, civil society, business and religious leaders, public
servants, labour unions, the youth and professional associations all have
important roles to play to get our country back on a sound economic
footing.”
On the required external support in the anti-insurgency and terrorism
campaign, he expressed regret that, “the blanket application of the Leahy
Law by the United States on the grounds of unproven allegations of human
rights violations levelled against our forces has denied us access to
appropriate strategic weapons to prosecute the war against the
insurgents.” He noted that in “the face of abduction of innocent school
girls from their hostels, indiscriminate bombings of civilians in markets
and places of worship, our forces have remained largely impotent because
they do not possess the appropriate weapons and technology which they
could have had, had the so called human rights violations not been an
obstacle.”
According to President Buhari, “Unwittingly, and I dare say,
unintentionally, the application of the Leahy law amendment by the U. S.
Government has aided and abated the Boko Haram terrorist group in the
prosecution of its extremist ideology and hate, the indiscriminate
killings and maiming of civilians, in raping of women and girls, and in
their other heinous crimes. I believe this is not the spirit of the Leahy
Laws. I know the American people cannot support any group engaged in
these crimes. I therefore strongly appeal to both the Executive
Arm and the US Congress to examine how the US Government can provide us
with far more substantial counter-terrorism assistance with minimal
strings. The longer we delay, the deadlier the Boko Haram gets. At all
events, we have re-written the rules of engagement protecting the rights
of combatants and in particular safeguarding civilians in theatres of
conflict.”
Before the President’s address at the last programme of his four-day
visit, the former United States Secretary of State for African Affairs,
Ambassador Johnnie Carson, who moderated the interactive session, had
described President Buhari as a “very humble and strong personality with
enormous integrity and commitment to good governance and uplifting the
lives of the citizenry.”