The Die is Cast Acceptance Statement by General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR,<\/p>\n
President-Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria April 1st, 2015
\nI am immensely grateful to God for this day and for this hour. I feel
\ntruly honoured and humbled that the Nigerian people have so clearly chosen
\nme to lead them. The official announcement from INEC was the moment the
\nvast majority of Nigerians had hoped and been waiting for. Today, history
\nhas been made, and change has finally come. Your votes have changed our
\nnational destiny for the good of all Nigerians . INEC has announced that
\nI, Muhammadu Buhari, shall be your next president. My team and I shall
\nfaithfully serve you. There shall no longer be a ruling party again: APC
\nwill be your governing party. We shall faithfully serve you. We shall
\nnever rule over the people as if they were subservient to government. Our
\nlong night has passed and the daylight of new democratic governance has
\nbroken across the land. This therefore is not a victory for one man or
\neven one party. It is a victory for Nigeria and for all Nigerians.
\nMillions of you have worked for this day. So many have risked life and
\nlivelihood; and others have died that we may witness this moment. And it
\nis with a very heavy heart that I report many deaths and injuries amidst
\nthe jubilations yesterday. We send our sincere condolences to the families
\nand friends of those who lost their lives; and wish speedy recovery to
\nthose who suffered injuries. I appeal to all our supporters to celebrate
\nthis victory with prayers and reflection instead of wild jubilation. May
\nthe souls of those who died rest in peace. Let us take a moment of silence
\nto honour all of those whose sacrifices have brought us to this fine and
\nhistoric hour. As the results of the election have shown, their labor has
\nnot been and will never be in vain. Democracy and the rule of law will be
\nre-established in the land. Page 1 Let us put the past, especially the
\nrecent past, behind us. We must forget our old battles and past
\ngrievances\u2014and learn to forge ahead. I assure you that our government is
\none that will listen to and embrace all. I pledge myself and our in-coming
\nadministration to just and principled governance.<\/p>\n
There shall be no biasagainst or favouritism for any Nigerian based on ethnicity, religion,
\nregion, gender or social status. I pledge myself and the government to the
\nrule of law, in which none shall be so above the law that they are not
\nsubject to its dictates, and none shall be so below it that they are not
\navailed of its protection. You shall be able to go to bed knowing that you
\nare safe and that your constitutional rights remain in safe hands. You
\nshall be able to voice your opinion without fear of reprisal or
\nvictimisation. My love and concern for this nation and what I desire for
\nit extends to all, even to those who do not like us or our politics. You
\nare all my people and I shall treat everyone of you as my own. I shall
\nwork for those who voted for me as well as those who voted against me and
\neven for those who did not vote at all. We all live under one name as one
\nnation: we are all Nigerians. Some unfortunate issues about my eligibility
\nhave been raised during the campaign. I wish to state that through
\ndevotion to this nation, everything I have learned and done has been to
\nenable me to make the best possible contribution to public life. If I had
\njudged myself incapable of governing I would never have sought to impose
\nmyself on it. I have served in various capacities and have always put in
\nmy best. But despite the rancour of the elections, I extend a hand of
\nfriendship and conciliation to President Jonathan and his team. I hereby
\nwish to state that I harbour no ill will against anyone. Let me state
\nclearly that President Jonathan has nothing to fear from me. Although we
\nmay not agree on the methods of governing the nation, he is a great
\nNigerian and still our president. He deserves our support and permanent
\nrespect by virtue of the office he has held.<\/p>\n
This is how an honourable\u00a0nation treats its servants and conducts its affairs; and this is how
\nNigeria should be. Page 2 I look forward to meeting with President
\nJonathan in the days to come to discuss how our teams can make the
\ntransition of administrations as efficient as possible. Here, I want to
\nthank my party for selecting me as its candidate. I thank our party
\nleaders and members for the steadfast contributions they made to bring our
\ndream to fruition. I thank INEC, the police and all other government
\nagencies for performing their tasks in a proper manner and for refusing to
\nbe induced to undermine the election and the democratic process. I also
\nwish to thank religious Leaders, traditional leaders, the media, labor
\nunions, Civil Society organisations, organised private sector, youths and
\nstudents for their roles in this election. I give special thanks to
\nPresident Obama and his timely intervention and support for peaceful and
\ncredible elections in Nigeria and for sending Secretary John Kerry and
\nother United States officials. The European Union – especially the United
\nKingdom, France, Germany and other nations that were actively involved in
\nensuring the success of this election are equally appreciated. My sincere
\nthanks to the United Nations Secretary General Mr Ban-Ki Moon. The
\nCommonwealth, China, India and other Asian and Gulf states are also hereby
\nappreciated. Finally our brothers in the African Union and ECOWAS have
\ntruly and clearly shown and demonstrate their commitment to our
\ndemocratisation process.<\/p>\n
Former Presidents John Kuffour, Amos Sawyer,Bakili Muluzi and histeam are well appreciated. I must also add my<\/p>\n
appreciation for the role played by civil societies, national and
\nInternational observers, other world leaders in ensuring that Nigeria
\nholds free and fair elections. I assure all foreign governments that
\nNigeria will become a more forceful and constructive player in the global
\nfight against terrorism and in other matters of collective concern, such
\nas the fight against drugs, climate change, financial fraud, communicable
\ndiseases and other issues requiring global response. I want to assure our
\nfellow African nations that Nigeria will now stand as a more constructive
\npartner in advancing the matters of concern to our continent, particularly
\nwith regard to economic development and eradication of poverty. Page 3
\nFormer head of state and president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, General Yakubu
\nGowon, Alh. Shehu Shagari, General Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Ernest
\nShonekan and General Abdulsalami Abubakar deserve commendations for their
\nstatesmanship and words of caution and counsel for peace during the tense
\nmoments of this electoral period. Most of all, I thank the people of
\nNigeria for reposing their confidence in me at this trying moment. Our
\nnation wrestles many challenges including insecurity, corruption, economic
\ndecline. I pledge to give you my best in tackling these problems. The good
\npeople of Nigeria, your obligation does not end with casting your ballot.<\/p>\n
I seek your voice and input as we tackle these problems. This will not be
\na government democratic only in form. It will be a government democratic
\nin substance and in how it interacts with its own people. No doubt, this
\nnation has suffered greatly in the recent past, and its staying power has
\nbeen tested to its limits by crises, chief among which is insurgency of
\nthe Boko Haram. There is no doubt that in tackling the insurgency we have
\na tough and urgent job to do. But I assure you that Boko Haram will soon
\nknow the strength of our collective will and commitment to rid this nation
\nof terror, and bring back peace and normalcy to all the affected areas. We
\nshall spare no effort until we defeat terrorism. Furthermore, we shall
\nstrongly battle another form of evil that is even worse than terrorism\u2014the
\nevil of corruption.<\/p>\n
Corruption attacks and seeks to destroy our national
\ninstitutions and character. By misdirecting into selfish hands funds
\nintended for the public purpose, corruption distorts the economy and
\nworsens income inequality. It creates a class of unjustly-enriched people.
\nSuch an illegal yet powerful force soon comes to undermine democracy
\nbecause its conspirators have amassed so much money that they believe they
\ncan buy government. We shall end this threat to our economic development
\nand democratic survival. I repeat that corruption will not be tolerated by
\nthis administration; and it shall no longer be allowed to stand as if it
\nis a respected monument in this nation. Page 4 I ask you to join me in
\nresolving these and the other challenges we face. Along the way, there
\nwill be victories but there may also be setbacks. Mistakes will be made.<\/p>\n
But we shall never take you for granted; so, be rest assured that our
\nerrors will be those of compassion and commitment not of wilful neglect
\nand indifference. We shall correct that which does not work and improve
\nthat which does. We shall not stop, stand or idle. We shall, if necessary
\ncrawl, walk and run to do the job you have elected us to do. I realise
\nthat the expectation of our people today is as high as their commitment to
\nchange has been strong and their belief in us unshaken. While we pledge to
\nbegin doing our best without delay, we would like to appeal to them to
\nappreciate the gravity of our situation, so that we become more realistic
\nin our expectations.<\/p>\n
We will govern for you and in your interests. Your
\nvote was not wasted. This is not the first time Nigerians have cast their
\nvotes for us, and this is not the first time they have been counted; but
\nthis is the first time that the votes have been allowed to count. With the
\nhelp of God, we pledge to do our utmost to bring forth the Nigeria you
\nseek. Thank you for your patience and attention. General Muhammadu Buhari,
\nGCFR President-Elect, Federal Republic of Nigeria<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Die is Cast Acceptance Statement by General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, President-Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria April 1st, 2015 I am immensely grateful to God for this day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n