{"id":36409,"date":"2015-02-26T16:24:36","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T15:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=36409"},"modified":"2015-02-26T16:24:36","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T15:24:36","slug":"buharis-speech-chatham-house-today-february-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/pointblanknews-investigations\/buharis-speech-chatham-house-today-february-27\/","title":{"rendered":"Buhari\u2019s Speech at Chatham House today, February 27"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Permit me to start by thanking Chatham House\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0invitation\u00a0to talk about this important\u00a0topic at this crucial time.\u00a0When speaking about Nigeria overseas, I normally prefer to be my country\u2019s public relations\u00a0and marketing officer, extolling\u00a0her\u00a0virtues and hoping to attract investments and\u00a0tourists.<\/p>\n

But as we all know, Nigeria is now battling with many challenges,\u00a0and if I refer to them,\u00a0I\u00a0do so only to\u00a0impress on our friends in the United Kingdom\u00a0that we are quite\u00a0aware of our\u00a0shortcomings\u00a0and are doing our best to address them. The\u00a02015 general election in Nigeria is generating a lot of interests\u00a0within and outside the country.<\/p>\n

This is understandable. Nigeria, Africa\u2019s most populous country and largest economy, is at a defining moment, a moment that has great implications beyond the\u00a0democratic project and beyond the borders\u00a0of\u00a0my\u00a0dear\u00a0country. So let me say upfront that\u00a0the\u00a0global interest in Nigeria\u2019s\u00a0landmark\u00a0election is not misplaced at all\u00a0and indeed should be commended;\u00a0for this is an election that has serious\u00a0import\u00a0for the world.<\/p>\n

I urge the international community\u00a0to\u00a0continue to\u00a0focus on\u00a0Nigeria\u00a0at this\u00a0very\u00a0critical moment. Given increasing global linkages,\u00a0it is in our collective interests that the postponed elections\u00a0should\u00a0hold on the rescheduled dates;\u00a0that they\u00a0should be\u00a0free and fair;\u00a0that\u00a0their outcomes\u00a0should be\u00a0respected by all parties;\u00a0and that\u00a0any form of\u00a0extension, under whichever guise,\u00a0is unconstitutional and\u00a0will\u00a0not be tolerated. With the\u00a0fall\u00a0of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the collapse of communism\u00a0and the end of the Cold War, democracy became the\u00a0dominant and most preferred system\u00a0of government across the globe.<\/p>\n

That global transition has been aptly captured as the triumph of democracy\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0\u2018most pre-eminent political idea of our time.\u2019 On a personal\u00a0note, the phased end\u00a0of the\u00a0USSR was a turning point for me.\u00a0It convinced me\u00a0that change can be brought about without firing a single shot. As you all know, I had been a\u00a0military head of state\u00a0in Nigeria\u00a0for\u00a0twenty\u00a0months. We\u00a0intervened because we\u00a0were unhappy with the state of affairs in our country. We wanted to arrest the drift.\u00a0Driven\u00a0by patriotism, influenced by\u00a0the prevalence and popularity of such drastic measures all over\u00a0Africa and elsewhere, we\u00a0fought\u00a0our\u00a0way to power.<\/p>\n

But the\u00a0global triumph of democracy\u00a0has shown\u00a0that another\u00a0and a preferable path to change is possible.\u00a0It is an important\u00a0lesson I have carried with me since, and a lesson that is\u00a0not\u00a0lost\u00a0on the\u00a0African\u00a0continent. In the last two decades, democracy\u00a0has grown strong\u00a0roots\u00a0in Africa.\u00a0Elections, once so rare, are now so\u00a0commonplace.\u00a0As at the time I was\u00a0a\u00a0military head of state\u00a0between 1983 and 1985, only four African countries held\u00a0regular\u00a0multi-party elections.<\/p>\n

But the\u00a0number of electoral democracies in Africa, according to Freedom House,\u00a0jumped to 10 in 1992\/1993 then to 18 in\u00a01994\/1995 and to 24 in 2005\/2006.\u00a0According to the\u00a0New York Times, 42 of\u00a0the 48 countries in Sub-Saharan\u00a0Africa\u00a0conducted\u00a0multi-party elections between\u00a01990 and 2002. The newspaper\u00a0also reported that between\u00a02000 and 2002, ruling parties in\u00a0four African countries\u00a0(Senegal, Mauritius, Ghana and Mali)\u00a0peacefully handed over power to victorious opposition parties.<\/p>\n

In addition, the proportion of\u00a0African countries categorized as not\u00a0free\u00a0by Freedom House\u00a0declined from 59% in 1983 to 35% in 2003. Without doubt, Africa has been part of the\u00a0current\u00a0global wave\u00a0of democratisation. But the growth of democracy on the continent has been uneven.<\/p>\n

According to Freedom House, the number of electoral democracies in Africa slipped from 24 in 2007\/2008 to 19 in 2011\/2012; while the percentage of countries categorised as\u00a0\u2018not free\u2019\u00a0assuming for the sake of argument that we accept their definition of \u201cfree\u201d\u00a0increased\u00a0from\u00a035% in 2003 to 41% in 2013.\u00a0Also, there have been some reversals at different times in\u00a0Burkina\u00a0Faso,\u00a0Central African\u00a0Republic, Cote D\u2019Ivoire,\u00a0Guinea,\u00a0Guinea-Bissau,\u00a0Lesotho,\u00a0Mali,\u00a0Madagascar, Mauritania and Togo.<\/p>\n

We can choose to look at the glass of democracy in Africa\u00a0as either\u00a0half full or half empty. While you can\u2019t have representative democracy without elections,\u00a0it is equally important\u00a0to\u00a0look at the quality of the elections and\u00a0to remember that mere elections do not democracy make.<\/p>\n

It is globally agreed\u00a0that democracy is not an event, but a journey. And that the destination\u00a0of that journey\u00a0is democratic consolidation \u2013\u00a0that state where\u00a0democracy has become\u00a0so rooted\u00a0and so routine\u00a0and\u00a0widely\u00a0accepted\u00a0by all actors. With this important destination in mind,\u00a0it is clear\u00a0that though many African countries\u00a0now hold regular elections, very few of them have consolidated the practice of democracy.<\/p>\n

It is important to also state at this point that just as\u00a0with\u00a0elections, a\u00a0consolidated democracy cannot be an end by itself.\u00a0I will argue that it is not enough\u00a0to hold\u00a0a\u00a0series of\u00a0elections or even\u00a0to peacefully\u00a0alternate power among parties. It is\u00a0much more\u00a0important that the promise of democracy\u00a0goes beyond just allowing\u00a0people to\u00a0freely\u00a0choose their leaders.<\/p>\n

It is\u00a0much more\u00a0important\u00a0that\u00a0democracy should deliver on the promise of\u00a0choice,\u00a0of\u00a0freedoms,\u00a0of\u00a0security of lives and property,\u00a0of transparency and accountability, of rule of law, of good governance and of shared prosperity. It is\u00a0very important that the\u00a0promise\u00a0embedded in the concept\u00a0of democracy, the promise of a better life for the generality of the people,\u00a0is not delivered in the breach.<\/p>\n

Now,\u00a0let me quickly turn to Nigeria.\u00a0As you all know, Nigeria\u2019s fourth republic is in its 16th year and this general election will be the fifth in a row.\u00a0This is\u00a0a major sign of progress\u00a0for us, given that our first republic lasted five years and three months, the second republic ended after\u00a0four years and two months and the third republic was a still-birth.<\/p>\n

However, longevity is not the only reason why everyone is so interested in this election. The major difference this time around is that for the very first time since transition to civil rule in 1999, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is facing its stiffest opposition so far from our party the All Progressives Congress (APC). We\u00a0once had about 50 political parties, but with no\u00a0real competition.<\/p>\n

Now Nigeria is transitioning\u00a0from a dominant party system to a competitive electoral polity, which is\u00a0a\u00a0major marker on the road to democratic consolidation. As you know, peaceful alternation of power\u00a0through competitive elections\u00a0have\u00a0happened\u00a0in Ghana,\u00a0Senegal, Malawi and\u00a0Mauritius in recent times.\u00a0The prospects of democratic consolidation in Africa will be further brightened when that\u00a0eventually happens in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

But there are other reasons why Nigerians and the whole world are intensely focussed on this year\u2019s elections, chief of which is that the elections are holding in the shadow of huge security, economic and social uncertainties in Africa\u2019s most populous country and largest economy.\u00a0On\u00a0insecurity,\u00a0there is\u00a0a\u00a0genuine cause for worry, both within and outside Nigeria.\u00a0Apart from the civil war era, at no other time in our history has Nigeria been this insecure. Boko Haram has sadly put Nigeria on the terrorism map, killing more than 13,000 of\u00a0our\u00a0nationals, displacing millions internally and externally, and at a time holding on to portions of our territory the size of Belgium.<\/p>\n

What has been consistently lacking is the required leadership in our battle against insurgency. I, as\u00a0a retired general and a former head of state, have always known about our soldiers:\u00a0they are\u00a0capable,\u00a0well trained,\u00a0patriotic, brave\u00a0and always ready to do their\u00a0duty\u00a0in the service of\u00a0our country. You all can bear witness\u00a0to\u00a0the gallant role of our military\u00a0in\u00a0Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo,\u00a0Sierra Leone,\u00a0Liberia, Darfur\u00a0and\u00a0in many\u00a0other\u00a0peacekeeping operations in several\u00a0parts of the world.\u00a0But in the matter of this insurgency, our soldiers have neither received the necessary support nor the required incentives to tackle this problem.<\/p>\n

The government has also failed in any effort towards a multi-dimensional response to this problem leading to a situation in which we have now become dependent on our neighbours to\u00a0come to\u00a0our rescue. Let\u00a0me\u00a0assure you that if I am elected president, the world will\u00a0have no cause to worry about Nigeria as it has had to recently;\u00a0that Nigeria\u00a0will\u00a0return to its\u00a0stabilising role in West Africa; and that no inch of Nigerian\u00a0territory\u00a0will ever be lost\u00a0to the enemy because we will pay special attention to\u00a0the\u00a0welfare of our soldiers\u00a0in and out of service, we will give them adequate\u00a0and modern\u00a0arms and ammunitions to work with,\u00a0we will improve intelligence gathering\u00a0and border controls to\u00a0choke Boko Haram\u2019s financial and equipment channels, we will be tough on terrorism and tough on its root causes by initiating a comprehensive economic development plan promoting infrastructural development, job creation, agriculture and industry in the affected areas.<\/p>\n

We will always act on time and not allow problems to\u00a0irresponsibly\u00a0fester, and I,\u00a0Muhammadu\u00a0Buhari,\u00a0will always lead from the\u00a0front and return Nigeria to its leadership role in regional and international efforts to combat terrorism. On the economy, the fall in\u00a0prices of oil has brought our economic and social stress into full relief.\u00a0After the rebasing exercise in April\u00a02014, Nigeria overtook South Africa as Africa\u2019s largest economy. Our GDP is now valued at $510 billion and our economy rated 26th\u00a0in the world.<\/p>\n

Also on the bright side,\u00a0inflation has been kept at single digit\u00a0for a while\u00a0and\u00a0our economy\u00a0has grown\u00a0at an average of 7%\u00a0for about a\u00a0decade. But it is more of paper growth, a growth that, on account\u00a0of mismanagement, profligacy and\u00a0corruption, has not translated to human development\u00a0or shared prosperity. A development\u00a0economist once said three questions should be asked\u00a0about a country\u2019s\u00a0development: one, what is happening to poverty?<\/p>\n

Two, what is happening to unemployment? And three, what is happening to inequality? The answers to these questions\u00a0in Nigeria\u00a0show that the current\u00a0administration has created two economies\u00a0in one\u00a0country, a sorry tale of two nations: one\u00a0economy\u00a0for a few who have so much\u00a0in their\u00a0tiny\u00a0island of prosperity;\u00a0and the other\u00a0economy\u00a0for the many who have so little\u00a0in their\u00a0vast\u00a0ocean of misery.<\/p>\n

Even by official figures, 33.1% of Nigerians live in extreme poverty. That\u2019s at almost 60 million, almost the population of the United Kingdom.\u00a0There is also the unemployment crisis simmering beneath the surface, ready to explode at the slightest stress, with officially 23.9%\u00a0of our adult population and almost 60% of our\u00a0youth unemployed. We also have one of the highest rates\u00a0of inequalities in the world.<\/p>\n

With all these, it is not surprising that our performance on most governance and development indicators (like\u00a0Mo Ibrahim Index on African Governance\u00a0and UNDP\u2019s Human Development Index.)\u00a0are unflattering.\u00a0With fall\u00a0in the prices of oil, which accounts for more than 70% of government revenues, and lack of savings from more than a decade of oil boom, the poor will be disproportionately impacted. In the face of dwindling revenues, a good place to start the repositioning of Nigeria\u2019s economy is to swiftly tackle two ills that have ballooned under the present administration: waste and corruption.<\/p>\n

And in doing this, I will, if elected,\u00a0lead the way, with the force of personal example. On corruption, there will be no confusion as to where I stand. Corruption will have no place and the corrupt will not be appointed into my administration. First and foremost, we will plug the holes in the budgetary process. Revenue producing entities such as NNPC and Customs and Excise will have one set of books only. Their revenues will be publicly disclosed and regularly audited. The institutions of state dedicated to fighting corruption will be given independence and prosecutorial authority without\u00a0political interference.<\/p>\n

But I must emphasise that any war waged on corruption should not be misconstrued as settling old scores or a witch-hunt. I\u2019m running for President to lead Nigeria to prosperity and not adversity. In reforming the economy, we will use savings that arise from blocking these leakages\u00a0and the proceeds recovered from corruption\u00a0to fund our party\u2019s social investments\u00a0programmes\u00a0in education, health, and safety nets such as\u00a0free school meals for children, emergency public works\u00a0for unemployed youth and\u00a0pensions for the elderly.<\/p>\n

As a progressive party,\u00a0we must reform our political economy to unleash the pent-up ingenuity and productivity of the Nigerian people thus freeing them from the curse\u00a0of poverty. We\u00a0will run a private sector-led economy but\u00a0maintain an\u00a0active role for government through\u00a0strong regulatory oversight and deliberate interventions and incentives to diversify the base\u00a0of our economy, strengthen\u00a0productive sectors, improve the productive capacities of our people and create jobs for our teeming youths.<\/p>\n

In short, we will run a\u00a0functional\u00a0economy\u00a0driven\u00a0by a worldview that sees growth\u00a0not as an end by itself, but as a tool to create a society that works for all, rich and poor alike.\u00a0On March 28, Nigeria has a decision to make. To vote for the continuity of failure or to elect progressive change. I believe the people will choose wisely. In sum, I think that given its strategic importance, Nigeria can trigger a wave of democratic consolidation in Africa. But as a starting point we need to get this critical election\u00a0right by ensuring that they go ahead,\u00a0and depriving those who want to scuttle it the benefit of derailing our fledgling democracy.<\/p>\n

That way, we will all\u00a0see democracy and democratic consolidation as tools for solving pressing problems in a\u00a0sustainable\u00a0way, not as ends in themselves. Permit me to close this discussion on a personal note.\u00a0I have heard and read references to me as a former dictator\u00a0in many respected British newspapers including the well regarded Economist. Let me say without sounding defensive that dictatorship goes with military rule, though some\u00a0might be less dictatorial than others.<\/p>\n

I take responsibility for whatever happened under my watch. I cannot change the past. But I can change the\u00a0present and the future. So before you is a former\u00a0military ruler\u00a0and a converted democrat who\u00a0is\u00a0ready to operate under democratic norms and is\u00a0subjecting himself to the rigours of democratic\u00a0elections for the fourth time. You may ask: why is he doing this?\u00a0This is\u00a0a\u00a0question I ask myself all the time too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And here is my\u00a0humble\u00a0answer:\u00a0because the work of making Nigeria great\u00a0is not yet done, because\u00a0I still believe that change is possible, this time through the ballot, and most importantly, because I still have the capacity and the passion to dream and work for a Nigeria that will be respected again in the comity of nations and that all Nigerians will be proud of.<\/span><\/div>\n
Sent\u00a0from\u00a0my\u00a0BlackBerry\u00a010\u00a0smartphone.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Permit me to start by thanking Chatham House\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0invitation\u00a0to talk about this important\u00a0topic at this crucial time.\u00a0When speaking about Nigeria overseas, I normally prefer to be my country\u2019s public relations\u00a0and marketing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pointblanknews-investigations"],"yoast_head":"\nBuhari\u2019s Speech at Chatham House today, February 27 - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/pointblanknews-investigations\/buharis-speech-chatham-house-today-february-27\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Buhari\u2019s Speech at Chatham House today, February 27 - 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