Buhari sworn in as president

Muhammadu Buhari was yesterday sworn in as president of Nigeria for a term of four years. He took over from Goodluck Jonathan, who had been on the saddle for the past five years following the death of the late President Umaru Yar’adua. The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed administered the oath of office […]

Muhammadu Buhari was yesterday sworn in as president of Nigeria for a term of four years. He took over from Goodluck Jonathan, who had been on the saddle for the past five years following the death of the late President Umaru Yar’adua. The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed administered the oath of office on Buhari and his deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. The highpoint of the inauguration ceremony was the presentation of the Nigerian Constitution as well as the national and armed forces flags to Buhari.
In his inaugural speech, Buhari said the day marked a triumph for Nigeria and an occasion to celebrate her freedom and cherish her democracy. The president said Nigerians had shown their commitment to democracy and were determined to entrench its culture. He said: “Our journey has not been easy but thanks to the determination of our people and strong support from friends abroad we have today a truly democratically elected government in place.”
“Together we co-operated to surprise the world that had come to expect only the worst from Nigeria. I hope this act of graciously accepting defeat by the outgoing President will become the standard of political conduct in the country,” he said while thanking his supporters for believing in him, “Even when the cause seemed hopeless.”
“I salute their resolve in waiting long hours in rain and hot sun to register and cast their votes and stay all night if necessary to protect their votes being counted. I thank those who tirelessly carried the campaign on social media,” he said.
The president emphasised that the most immediate priority of his administration would be to eliminate the Boko Haram insurgency.
Buhari acknowledged that the security forces had, in recent weeks, made progress in the fight against the insurgency in the North-East. He, however, noted that victory could not be achieved by concentrating the command and control centre in Abuja, which he said would be relocated to Maiduguri, Borno State Capital.
According to the president, the command and control centre will remain in Maiduguri until Boko Haram is completely subdued. He said Nigeria could not claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls and all other innocent persons held hostage by the insurgents. He assured that his government would do all it could to rescue the captives alive.
Buhari described Boko Haram as “a typical example of small fires causing large fires” and mindless and godless group far away from Islam. He said the most immediate priority of his government is the insurgency. He added: “An eccentric and unorthodox preacher with a tiny following was given posthumous fame and following by his extra-judicial murder at the hands of the police. Since then, through official bungling, negligence, complacency or collusion Boko Haram became a terrifying force, taking tens of thousands of lives and capturing swathes of Nigerian sovereign territory.”
Buhari described Boko Haram as a mindless, godless group as far away from Islam as one can imagine. “At the end of the hostilities, when the group is subdued the government intends to commission a sociological study to determine its origins, remote and immediate causes of the movement, its sponsors, the international connections to ensure that measures are taken to prevent a recurrence of this evil.”
The president said the armed forces would be, for now, fully charged with prosecuting the fight against Boko Haram. He said while the rules of engagement would be overhauled to avoid human rights violations in operations, his government would improve operational and legal mechanisms so that disciplinary steps are taken against proven human right violations by the armed forces.
The president said Boko Haram was not only the security issue bedevilling the country, saying the spate of kidnappings, armed robberies, herdsmen/farmers clashes and cattle rustling helped to add to the general air of insecurity in the land. He said his government was going to erect and maintain efficient, disciplined people-friendly and well-compensated security forces within an overall security architecture.
Buhari said though the amnesty programme in the Niger Delta “is due to end in December,” his government intends to invest heavily in the projects and programmes currently in place. He called on the leadership and people in the Niger Delta areas to cooperate with the state and federal governments in the rehabilitation programmes which he promised would be streamlined and made more effective. “As ever, I am ready to listen to grievances of my fellow Nigerians. I extend my hand of fellowship to them so that we can bring peace and build prosperity for our people,” Buhari said.