INDEPENDENCE DAY ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON THE OCCASION OF NIGERIA’S SIXTY FIRST
INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY, FRIDAY 1ST OCTOBER, 2021.
Citizens of
Nigeria.
It is with full gratitude to God that today, we celebrate
Nigeria’s sixty first Independence Anniversary.
2. For 1st of October
1960 to happen, all hands were on deck. East, West, North all came together to
celebrate freedom. Today should not only serve as a reminder of the day the
British handed over the reins of power to Nigerians, but also unified Nigerians
from all ethnic groups, religions and regions.
3. Today, despite the
challenges we face, most Nigerians still maintain the spirit of 1st October.
That positive outlook and determination to make Nigeria a peaceful and
prosperous nation. It is due to this collective attitude that Nigeria doggedly
continues to remain a united and indivisible nation.
4. Fellow
Nigerians, the past eighteen months have been some of the most difficult periods
in the history of Nigeria. Since the civil war, I doubt whether we have seen a
period of more heightened challenges than what we have witnessed in this
period.
5. Our original priorities for 2020 were to continue
stabilising our economy following the deep recession while restoring peace in
areas confronted with security challenges. But the COVID-19 pandemic and its
devastating impact on all nations meant we needed to shift gears and
re-strategise.
6. Nigerians came together as one to fight against
COVID-19. It is this attitude and by the special grace of God, we continue to
survive the pandemic as a nation and indeed, provide leadership and example at
regional and international levels.
7. The doomsday scenario predicted
for our country never came. Even as the Delta variant continues to spread, we
have built the capacity we need to respond now and into the future.
8.
I will therefore appeal to Nigerians not to take COVID lightly, adhere to public
health and social measures, put your mask on and get vaccinated. We can control
this pandemic, but it requires effort on everybody’s part. The investments we
made in response to COVID-19 will also serve our country to tackle any future
disease outbreaks or pandemics.
9. Despite the global inequity in
access to vaccines, the Government of Nigeria has continued to explore all
available options to ensure Nigerians have free access to safe and effective
vaccines.
10. Some five million vaccine doses have been administered
to Nigerians through efforts led by the National Primary Health Care Development
Agency and we will continue to explore options for purchase or acquisition of
vaccines such as through COVAX and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust.
11.
I will take this opportunity to remind the global community that the current
state of access to COVID-19 vaccines is unacceptable. We cannot afford a
situation where a handful of countries keep the global vaccine supply to
themselves at the expense of other nations.
12. We must act now to
accelerate equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. This is the message I
conveyed to the international community in New York last week.
13. As
we push to source vaccines for our immediate needs, we shall invest more to
support our pharmaceutical and research agencies to come up with ideas for
locally developed vaccines. Should another pandemic arise in the future, Our
question is simple; will Nigeria be ready?
14. Accordingly, I have
directed the Ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Health,
Education and Science and Technology to work with Nigerian and International
pharmaceutical companies and research organisations to enhance Nigeria’s
domestic pharmaceutical capacity.
15. Already, the Nigerian Sovereign
Investment Authority is raising a $200 million fund for this initiative that
will complement the Central Bank of Nigeria’s ongoing N85 billion Healthcare
Sector Research and Development Intervention Scheme to support local researchers
in the development of vaccines and drugs to combat communicable and
non-communicable diseases, including COVID-19.
Fellow Nigerians, this
is just the beginning.
16. Similarly, on our approach to food
security, I am proud to announce Nigeria has commenced its journey to
pharmaceutical independence.
17. This journey, which will take years
to achieve but will ultimately result in Nigerian based companies developing the
Active Pharmaceutical substances and competence needed for us to make our own
drugs and vaccines.
Fellow Nigerians,
18. As our economy
continues to open after the COVID-19 related lockdowns, we have also seen the
resurgence of insecurity in certain parts of the country.
19. In the
last four months, the gallant men and women of the Military and Security
Agencies have made tremendous progress in addressing these new security
challenges. We are taking the fight to our enemies from all angles and we are
winning.
20. Earlier this year, I launched the Integrated National
Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, the Deep Blue Project, which
is designed to secure Nigerian waters up to the Gulf of Guinea. I am happy to
inform Nigerians that we have taken delivery of key assets for this project and
very soon, its impact will be felt.
21. In the North East region
alone, over eight thousand Boko Haram terrorists have surrendered.
22.
To support our surge approach to fighting banditry, the Nigerian Armed Forces
have recruited over 17,000 personnel across all ranks. Furthermore, I have also
approved for the Nigerian Police Force to recruit 10,000 police officers
annually over the next six years.
23. I am also pleased to note that
most of the Air Force platforms we acquired over the past three years have
started to arrive in Nigeria. These will positively impact our security
operations in all parts of the country.
24. In line with section
14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the security and welfare of
Nigerians continue to be the prime focus on which programmes and projects of our
government revolves.
25. Therefore, as a Government, we are ready to
arrest and prosecute all persons inciting violence through words or action. Our
resolve for a peaceful, united and one Nigeria remains resolute and
unwavering.
26. That said, our hope is not to fight for peace. We can
always settle our grievances peacefully without spilling any blood.
27.
I will therefore take this opportunity, on this special day that symbolises the
unity and oneness of our great nation, to ask all Nigerians to embrace peace and
dialogue, whatever your grievances.
28. The seeds of violence are
planted in people’s heads through words. Reckless utterances of a few have led
to losses of many innocent lives and destruction of properties.
29.
Such unfiltered and unsubstantiated lies and hate speeches by a few evil persons
must be stopped. Our media houses and commentators must move away from just
reporting irresponsible remarks to investigating the truth behind all statements
and presenting the facts to readers.
30. We must all come out and
speak against the lies being peddled. At this point, I would want to sincerely
appreciate the large number of our Traditional, Religious and Community leaders
as well as other well-meaning Nigerians who, in their various fora are openly
spreading the message of peaceful co-existence and conflict settlement through
dialogue in their respective communities.
31. Nigeria is for all of
us. Its unity is not negotiable. And its ultimate success can only be achieved
if we all come together with a common goal of having peace and prosperity for
our nation.
32. We shall continue to work on dialogue based solutions
to address legitimate grievances. But we remain ready to take decisive actions
against secessionist agitators and their sponsors who threaten our national
security.
33. The recent arrests of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Adeyemo,
and the ongoing investigations being conducted have revealed certain
high-profile financiers behind these individuals. We are vigorously pursuing
these financiers including one identified as a serving member of the national
assembly.
34. This is a clear example of how people abandon their
national leadership positions for their selfish gains. Instead of preaching
unity, they are funding and misleading our youth to conduct criminal acts that
sometimes lead to unfortunate and unnecessary loss of lives and property.
35.
As the so-called leaders run abroad to hide, our innocent youths are misled and
left in the streets to fight for their senseless and destructive causes.
36.
Government will continue, with greater level of peoples’ participation and in
collaboration with our international partners, to improve the security
architecture, reduce enabling environment for criminality to thrive and
eliminate opportunities for terrorism financing.
37. Fellow
Nigerians, our unrelenting effort at resolving an almost two-decade stalling on
the management of our Petroleum resources and ensuring equitable consideration
to our host communities has resulted in the enactment of the Petroleum Industry
Act, 2021.
38. This Act not only overhauls the Institutional,
regulatory and fiscal framework of the Petroleum Industry but also reduces the
previous opacity associated with this sector.
39. This is the first
step to the reforms as the process is a continuous one. Already, to further
improve the governance framework, I have sought for an amendment of sections
11(2)(b) and 34(2)(b). We will also continue to review and amend as
appropriate.
40. At this juncture, it is very appropriate that I
salute the leadership and members of the Ninth Assembly for their patriotism,
dedication to duty, candour and most importantly the dispatch with which they
have enacted legacy legislations for this nation. I do not take such level of
cooperation for granted and hope it continues for the overall efficiency of the
Federal machinery.
41. Nigeria’s Roadmap on Local Refining is on
track with the Commissioning of a Modular refinery in Imo State.
42.
A second is scheduled for commissioning by the end of this year in Edo State and
the third one in Bayelsa State by 2022.
43. In addition to the
modular projects, we also have the two mega refinery projects coming up in Lagos
and Akwa Ibom States.
44. As these refineries are commissioned, more
employment opportunities are created and there would be increased petroleum
products available for local consumption which will significantly reduce our
reliance on importation.
45. In further demonstrating our plan to
reduce our dependence on oil and tapping from our enormous gas resources, this
administration remains committed to the “Decade of Gas” Initiative, which is
aimed at bringing to focus the utilization of our huge gas resources.
46.
Already, we are supporting and promoting various gas-based projects including
NLNG Train 7 and the mega urea and ammonia projects in the South-South
region.
47. As we continue to optimise and enhance our oil and gas
sector, I am also proud and delighted to state that our economic diversification
strategy remains on course with the persistent increase in Non-Oil Sector
contribution to GDP.
48. We recovered from economic recession in
quarter four of 2020 with a GDP growth rate of 0.11%, and grew by 0.51% and
5.01% in real terms in the first and second quarters of 2021.
49. The
Agricultural sector remains key to our economic diversification efforts as the
sector has been a consistent driver of the non-oil sector contributing 22.35%
and 23.78% to the overall GDP in the first and second quarter of 2021.
50.
We have seen significant private sector investments in almost all areas of the
agricultural value chain. And these have continued even during the COVID-19
pandemic.
51. Unfortunately, as our food production capacity has
increased, food prices have been going up due to artificial shortages created by
middlemen who have been buying and hoarding these essential commodities for
profiteering.
52. To address this, I am hereby directing the Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development to rehabilitate the National Food Reserve
Agency and also work with security agencies, the Nigerian Commodity Exchange,
and the National Assembly to find a lasting solution to these disruptive and
unpatriotic hoarding activities.
53. To further enhance food
production, we have completed several new dams and are in the process of
rehabilitating several River Basin Development Authorities to enhance ground
water supply for rainfed agriculture as well as surface water for irrigation
agriculture.
54. The water projects we completed between 2015 to 2020
have improved Nigerian’s access to potable water to 71% between 2015 and 2020.
This means 12.5 million additional Nigerians now have direct access to potable
water.
55. This Government remains concerned by the significant
transportation infrastructure deficit we have. Addressing the challenges our
commuters and lorry drivers face on the motorways is still a high priority to
us.
56. To complement our budgetary allocations, the Presidential
Infrastructure Development Fund and the Road Infrastructure Development and
Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme, we recently established a
N15trillion Infrastructural Corporation of Nigeria Limited (INFRACO), which is
expected to begin operation by the fourth quarter of this year.
57.
INFRACO will also focus on leveraging resources on a public-private sector basis
for infrastructural development in Nigeria.
58. We hope through these
innovative programs, the additional cost burden on individuals and businesses
because of inefficient logistics operations will be reduced and ultimately,
eliminated.
59. We currently have over 13,000 kilometres of roads and
bridges under construction all over the country of which a fair percentage have
been completed.
60. As we fix our roads, we also continue to extend
and upgrade Nigeria’s railway network with the notable opening of the Warri-
Itakpe standard gauge rail line.
61. To increase capacity, we have
introduced more locomotives, coaches and wagons including the establishment of a
Wagon Assembly in Kajola, Ogun State.
62. The sea ports however still
remain problematic. The effect of our various interventions to reduce the
gridlocks and inefficiencies have been slower than expected.
63.
However, the implementation of the Electronic Call-Up System as well as the
conversion of the Lillypond Container Terminal to a Vehicle Transit Area will
further enhance the ease of cargo evacuation.
64. Our prioritisation
of developing Nigeria’s Digital Economy has positively impacted the contribution
of the ICT sector to our GDP.
65. We hope our present efforts to
ensure all Nigerians use a National Identification Number as well as our planned
roll-out of the fifth generation (5G) network technology will ensure we stay in
line with the global innovation curve as a Nation.
66. As we embrace
the digital economy in Nigeria, we are fully aware of the prospects and the
perils. Our policies have been developed to enable Nigerians to take advantage
of the prospects and avoid the perils of digital technologies.
67.
Social media is a very useful platform that has enabled millions of Nigerians to
connect with loved ones, promote their businesses, socialise, and access news
and other information.
68. However, recent events have shown that the
platform is not just an innocuous platform for information dissemination.
69.
Rather some users have misused the platform to organise, coordinate, and execute
criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious
sentiments.
70. To address these negative trends, the Federal
Government of Nigeria suspended the operations of Twitter in Nigeria on June 5,
2021 to allow the Government put measures in place to address these
challenges.
71. Following the suspension of Twitter operations,
Twitter Inc. reached out to the Federal Government of Nigeria to resolve the
impasse. Subsequently, I constituted a Presidential Committee to engage Twitter
to explore the possibility of resolving the issue.
72. The Committee,
along with its Technical Team, has engaged with Twitter and have addressed a
number of key issues. These are:
b. Registration, Physical presence
and Representation;
c. Fair Taxation;
d. Dispute
Resolution; and
e. Local Content.
73. Following the
extensive engagements, the issues are being addressed and I have directed that
the suspension be lifted but only if the conditions are met to allow our
citizens continue the use of the platform for business and positive
engagements.
74. As a country, we are committed to ensuring that
digital companies use their platform to enhance the lives of our citizens,
respect Nigeria’s sovereignty, cultural values and promote online safety.
75.
Nigeria’s progressive diplomacy continues to manifest through growing numbers of
highly placed Nigerians in positions of regional and global influences. Very
recently, Nigeria won election for the position of Commissioner for the expanded
Political, Peace and Security Affairs of the African Union.
76. Our
persistent calls for a reorganized and reformed ECOWAS, to make the organization
citizens-sensitive, paid off with the acceptance by the Authority of Heads of
State and Governments of ECOWAS to commence the agreed reforms in the
organization ahead of the next elections of the organization’s principal
officers in December this year.
77. At the African Development Bank,
World Trade Organization and indeed, the United Nations, footprints of Nigeria’s
Diplomacy are clearly evident.
78. We remain confident that our goal
of lifting 100million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years is achievable.
79.
Considering the positive impact of our Social Investment Programs, I recently
approved an increase in the number of N-Power program beneficiaries from 500,000
to 1,000,000.
80. Out of this, 510,000 have started the programme
while the competitive selection process for onboarding the outstanding 490,000
beneficiaries is in progress.
81. The National Home-Grown School
Feeding Programme is currently being implemented in 35 States of the Federation
and the FCT. Over 103,000 women have been engaged and empowered as cooks under
the programme, while about 10 million pupils are being fed across public primary
schools in the country.
82. To grant increased access to credit to
the most poor and vulnerable, I have directed an increase in the disbursement of
Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme loans to an additional one
million beneficiaries laying more emphasis on the smallholding farmers through
the farmers Moni program.
Fellow Nigerians,
83. For far
too long we have neglected the centrality of the civil service as the engine of
governance and this has manifested in ineffective service delivery.
84.
There is widespread discontent and disillusion about the efficiency and probity
of our civil service.
85. It is for this reason that we are
refocusing the Nigerian Civil Service to provide World class service to run our
country.
86. The youths of this great country remain propellants for
our today and provide guarantees that we would have a secure tomorrow.
87.
It is for this reason that I remain focused on expanding opportunities for their
participation in politics and governance.
88. Recent appointments of
young people into positions of authority and their track record so far, gives me
confidence that we need to bring more of them into governance and this I promise
to do.
89. More specifically, to encourage Girl-Child Education,
female scholarship schemes, life skills and digital literacy skills to boost
girl’s enrolment, retention and completion of schooling, are all initiatives put
in place to ensure gender balance in appropriately positioning our youths for
positions of leadership.
90. The commitment of this Administration to
the well-being of people living with disabilities remains unwavering.
91.
Government recognises their contributions to development and I have, in this
regard, directed that all relevant Government Agencies pay special attention to
the peculiarities of different abilities in the implementation of policies and
programmes.
92. Rape and Gender Based Violence remains a sore point
in our Nation as in many countries worldwide and this was worsened during and
after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
93. We are currently
engaging Heads of Courts to establish Specialised Courts for the speedy and
seamless trial of Rape/Gender-Based offences especially to ensure that justice
is done for child victims of sexual violence.
94. On the other hand,
work has advanced in the reformation, reintegration and reunification of Minors
involved in one crime or the other.
95. The reformation in our
Correctional Services has manifested in an increase in modernised custodial
centres and a transformation from strictly punitive to attitudinal changes so
that criminals do not relapse into their previous lifestyle.
96. As
we begin to celebrate our sixty one years as a Nation, we need to be conscious
that Nigeria does not start and end with the Federal Government. This country is
a great collective where Government at all arms and levels as well as the
private sector, and more importantly individuals, have a role to play.
97.
In particular, security is a bottom to top undertaking. Joining hands and hearts
together would enable us to secure ourselves and our country.
98. I
fully understand the anxiety of many Nigerians on the inability of this country
to go beyond a never-ending potential for becoming a great nation to an actually
great one.
99. A lot has been achieved in the last six years on many
fronts: in infrastructure, social care, governance, Nigeria’s image and
influence in Africa and the international community.
100. But critics
misdiagnose incremental progress as stagnation. Since coming to power, this
Administration has tackled our problems head-on in spite of the meagre
resources. No government since 1999 has done what we have done in six years to
put Nigeria back on track.
101. We shall continue to serve the
country: listen to all and protect our democracy and country.
Thank
you all and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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