He said he is in the race to restore the country’s glory. Buhari said:
“I cannot change the past, but I can change the present and the future. So,
before you is a former military ruler and a converted democrat who is ready to
operate under democratic norms and is subjecting himself to the rigours of
democratic elections for the fourth time.
Meanwhile, there were
protests outside Chatham House where General Buhari was delivering his lecture
by his supporters and those people arranged to protest against his candidacy. A
lady admitted to being hired to arrange people to protest against Buhari in a
bid to promote her services.
Buhari, who spoke at the
Royal Institue of International Affairs, London (Chatham House) in a paper entitled
“Prospects for Democratic Consolidation in Africa: Nigeria’s Transition,” said
that he wanted to be president in a democracy “because the work of making
Nigeria great is not yet done.” The former Head of State said that one of his
major priorities as president was to fight corruption in all its ramifications,
pointing out that no corrupt person would be appointed into his cabinet.
He further said that he
would block all the leakages in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,
NNPC and the Customs & Excise which were the major cash cows for the nation
and use the proceeds recovered from corrupt people to fund “our party’s social
investment programmes in education, health, and safety nets such as free school
meals for children, emergency public works for unemployed youth and pensions
for the elderly. “But I must emphasise that any war waged on corruption should
not be misconstrued as settling old scores or a witch-hunt. I’m running for
President to lead Nigeria to prosperity and not adversity…”
According to Buhari, “the
institutions of state dedicated to fighting corruption will be given
independence and prosecutorial authority without political interference. “You
may ask: Why is he doing this? This is a question I ask myself all the time
also. And here is my humble answer, because I 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.”
Commenting on the reference
made to him by British newspapers as a former dictator, Buhari further said:
“Dictatorship goes with military rule, though some might be less dictatorial
than others.” He said that he took “responsibility for whatever happened” under
his “watch,” as Head of State. He also promised to lead the way with force of
personal example, especially in tackling waste and corruption.
Buhari for president
ReplyDeleteOld man go sit down and let the energetic rule
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