Remarks by General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, at the conferment of the award of Politician of the Year on him by Leadership Newspapers Group, at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, Thursday, September 29, 2011
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I would like to, first of all, thank the Leadership Newspapers Group for ?finding me worthy of consideration as Politician of the Year ?2010. I am immensely grateful to the Group and especially to Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, the Kakakin Nupe, the newspaper Group’s founder, for this recognition.?
Sam and I have been friends since we worked together in the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF) and have come to appreciate his candour, courage and forthrightness. Those who have founded or ran newspapers will concur that it is one of the most challenging undertakings in this country.?
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From small beginnings that started with LEADERSHIP and LEADERSHIP CONFIDENTIAL – now rested, temporarily I trust! – to a group comprising a daily, a weekly and a Hausa weekly which is a very ?popular and welcome addition to the Group, this company has established itself as a market leader that moulds public opinions and shape characters positively. This achievement is due largely to the energy and drive of Sam, the publisher, and his assistants. It is a rare feat of journalistic and business triumph for which Sam should be proud of.?
This award has provided me an opportunity to make studied comments on recent events in our country. But before I come to that let me give the background once again to my involvement in partisan politics beginning in 2000.?
I believe it is correct to claim that the whole country harboured high hopes for the in-coming civilian government of 1999.?
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Those who were skeptical at least were willing to give the new civilian government the benefit of the doubt. But the poor performance of former Obasanjo’s first term led many public minded citizens to look for an alternative. Literally, scores of people from across the country lobbied, pleaded and pressured me into going into politics to make my contribution to national growth. Those in the audience who followed our campaign train would have appreciated the support we had and still have, across the country.?
Our message was simple and clear. We promised to deliver security and prosperity through good governance. I believe we won the elections in 2003. There were no elections in 2007. The 2011 elections turned out to be a complete travesty. Let me recall for those who may have forgotten that in 2003 we challenged INEC through court subpoena to provide appropriate result sheets to verify the result they announced.?
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They could not and they did not. Yet, Justice Umaru Abdullahi and his colleagues – with the noble exception of Justice Nsufor – dishonestly and unprofessionally accepted INEC’s result in spite of the electoral body’s wanton refusal to obey a court order. And the former Chief Justice Muhammad Uwais’ Supreme Court ?followed suit.?
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In 2007, after we proved that ballot papers were filled in loose, un-numbered sheets making them impossible to audit and that final collation was in progress with only 13 states counted, Prof. Iwu went out of the meeting and announced the “result”. Former Chief Justice Kutigi’s Supreme Court eventually agreed that the elections were without blemish. What a country!?
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In the circumstances and after what happened in the 2011 elections which are all too fresh in public minds, I decided not to go to court again. But my party, the CPC decided on its own to challenge these awful results. We shall see if this challenge goes the way of the others or if for once, the judiciary would rise to the occasion and deliver justice. In the wake of the announced “results” of the presidential elections, spontaneous violence broke out in parts of the northern states and some people, knowing fully well the reasons behind the disturbance decided to point their crooked fingers at me, giving it religious and ethnic dimensions. The truth and the fact of the matter are that these bursts of pent-up feelings were aimed at major PDP figures and their collaborators who brazenly rigged the elections. In the process everything became a stationary or moving target.
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Even my own convoy was attacked; my vehicles damaged costing me hundreds of thousands of naira of scarce resources to repair. Those who accuse me of inciting violence are wholly mistaken. I have?
served this country from a commissioned officer in the Nigerian Army to Head of State. I believe in patience and perseverance?
even in the face of gross injustice. My most important wish and desire is for the country to remain peaceful and united and take its leading and rightful place among nations. The current spate of bombings requires a closer examination than the knee-jerk reaction of pointing to Niger Deltans or
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Boko Haram. Mercifully, Niger Delta violence has subsided. I support the government’s efforts at dialogue, engagement and rehabilitation for the former militants.?
The Ogoni/Shell compensation implementation should be handled very carefully. Ogonis should be fully involved in distribution and in environmental and infrastructural rehabilitation programmes. MASSOB leaders should also be engaged. Theirs is a pipedream. Nigeria has come to stay.?
In the case of Boko Haram, is it not incredible that a local, obscure religious group could have such capability and reach? There are copious security reports closely identifying the causes of this group’s militancy. Instead of multiplying investigative bodies and ignoring their reports, government should look closely at the security reports and act on them. The Jos mayhem continues uncontrolled. I call on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to declare a state of emergency in Plateau and Borno
states and create a breathing space for independent administrators to control the violence and chart a road-map for peace and security before the elected governments are restored. The level of violence in Plateau and Borno is unacceptable and must be stopped. I would like to conclude my remarks with thanks to all those who have attended this occasion – those inside the hall and outside – and the organizers of this presentation.?
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Thank you.?