13062019 - Politicians, religious leaders fueling insecurity — BUHARI

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22—Vanguard, THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2019 Address by President Muhammadu Buhari at the 2019 National Democracy Day at the Eagle Square, Abuja, June 12 TWENTY YEARS ago, a democratically elected government took over from the military in a historic transfer of political power for our country. Today, we are privileged to mark the longest period of unbroken democratic leadership and 5th peaceful transfer of power from one democratically elected government to another in Nigeria. Throughout the last four years, I respected the independence of INEC. I ensured that INEC got all the resources it needed for independent and impartial management of elections in the country Ȧll interested parties are agreed that the recent elections, which except for pockets of unrest, were free, fair and peaceful. I thank all the people who worked for our party, who campaigned and who voted for us. I thank my fellow Nigerians, who, since 2003 have consistently voted for me. Victory is your greatest reward; peace, unity and greater prosperity will be our collective legacy. Your Excellencies, Fellow Nigerians, I and Nigerians collectively must give adequate thanks to our Armed Forces, Police and other law enforcing agencies for working round the clock to protect us by putting themselves in harm’s way and defending our values and protecting our future. Terrorism and insecurity are worldwide phenomena and even the best policed countries are experiencing increasing incidents of unrest and are finding things hard to cope. Principal thrust of this new Administration The principal thrust of this new Administration is to consolidate on the achievements of the last four years, correct the lapses inevitable in all human endeavors and tackle the new challenges the country is faced with and chart a bold plan for transforming Nigeria. Fellow Nigerians, I have had the privilege of free education from Primary school to Staff College to War College. I received my formative education in Katsina and Kaduna and my higher education in England, India and the United States. I have worked and served in Kaduna, Lagos, Abeokuta, Makurdi, Port Harcourt, Maiduguri, Ibadan, Jos and finally here in Abuja. Throughout my adult life, I have been a public servant. I have no other career but public service. I know no service but public service. I was involved at close quarters in the struggle to keep Nigeria one. I can therefore do no more than dedicate the rest of my life to work for the unity of Nigeria and upliftment of Nigerians. In 2002-2003 campaigns and elections, I travelled by road to 34 of the 36 states of the Federation. This year I travelled by air to all 36 states of the Federation. Before and during my time in the Armed Forces and in government, I have interacted with Nigerians of all ages and persuasions and different shades of opinion over a period of more than fifty years. And my firm belief is that our people above all want to live in peace and harmony with their fellow Nigerians. They desire opportunity to better Most of the instances of inter-communal and inter-religious strife and violence were and are still as a result of sponsorship or incitements by ethnic, political or religious leaders hoping to benefit by exploiting our divisions and fault lines, thereby weakening our country. Nigeria is a great country And our country Nigeria is a great country. According to United Nations estimates, our population will rise to 411 million by 2050, making us the third We have water, arable land, forests, oil and gas and vast quantities of solid minerals. We are blessed with an equable climate. However, the bulk of our real wealth lies in Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Mining. We possess all the ingredients of a major economic power on the world stage. What we require is the will to get our acts together. And our strength is in our people – our youth, our culture, our resilience, our ability to succeed despite the odds. A huge responsibility therefore rests on this and succeeding Administrations to develop, harness and fulfil our enormous potential into a force to be reckoned with globally. Thus far, we Nigerians can be proud of our history since Independence in 1960. We have contributed to UN peace-keeping responsibilities all over the world; we have stabilized Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and two years ago we prevented the Gambia from degenerating into anarchy. Without Nigerian influence and resources, the liberation of Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and ultimately South Africa would have come at greater cost. This fact had been attested by none other than the late Nelson Mandela himself. Elsewhere, Nigeria is the Big Brother to our neighbours. We are the shock-absorber of the West African sub-region, the bulwark of ECOWAS and Lake Chad Basin Commission. We can therefore be proud to be Nigerians. We must continue to be Good Neighbours and Good Global Citizens. At home, we have been successful in forging a nation from different ethnicities and language groups: our evolution and integration into one nation continues apace. When, therefore we came to office in 2015 after a decade of struggle we identified three cardinal and existential challenges our country faced and made them our campaign focus, namely security, economy and fighting corruption. None but the most partisan will dispute that in the last four years we have made solid progress in addressing these challenges. Buhari acknowledging the crowd at the Democracy day celebration yesterday When I took the oath of office on 29 May 2015, insecurity reigned. Apart from occupying 18 local governments in the North East, Boko Haram could at will attack any city including the Federal Capital, could threaten any institution including bombing the United Nations building and Police Headquarters in Abuja. Admittedly, some of the challenges still remain in kidnappings and banditry in some rural areas. The great difference between 2015 and today is that we are meeting these challenges with much greater support to the security forces in terms of money, I was involved at close quarters in the struggle to keep Nigeria one, I can therefore do no more than dedicate the rest of my life to work for the unity of Nigeria and upliftment of Nigerians equipment and improved local intelligence. We are meeting these challenges with superior strategy, firepower and resolve. In face of these challenges, our Government elected by the people in 2015 and re-elected in March has been mapping out policies, measures and laws to maintain our unity and at the same time lift the bulk of our people out of poverty and onto the road to prosperity. This task is by no means unattainable. China has done it. India has done it. Indonesia has done it. Nigeria can do it. These are all countries characterized by huge burdens of population. China and Indonesia succeeded under authoritarian regimes. India succeeded in a democratic setting. We can do it. With leadership and a sense of purpose, we can lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years. Following the 60 percent drop in oil prices between 2015 and 2016, through monetary and fiscal measures, we stimulated economic growth, curbed inflation and shored up our external reserves. We now have witnessed 8 quarters of positive growth in the economy and our GDP is expected to grow by 2.7 percent this year. Furthermore, our external reserves have risen to $45 billion enough to finance over 9 months of current import commitments. This Administration is laying the foundation and taking bold steps in transforming our country and liberating our people from the shackles of poverty. First, we will take steps to integrate rural economies to the national economic “grid” by extending access to small-scale credits and inputs to rural farmers, credit to rural micro-businesses and opening up many critical feeder roads. Secondly, for small-scale enterprises in towns and cities, we shall expand facilities currently available so that we continue to encourage and support domestic production of basic goods and reduce our reliance of imported goods as I will outline later. For the next four years, we will remain committed to improving the lives of people by consolidating efforts to address these key issues as well as emerging challenges of climate change, resettling displaced communities and dealing decisively with the new flashes of insecurity across the country, and the impacts on food scarcity and regional stability. We are not daunted by the enormity of the tasks ahead. Instead, we are revived by this new mandate to work collaboratively with State and Local Governments, Legislators, the Diplomatic Corps and all Nigerians to rebuild and reposition our country as the heartbeat and reference point for our continent. Urgent need to modernize our roads and bridges Fellow Nigerians, Your Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen: a. Despite the enormous resources pledged to infrastructure development these past four years, there remains the urgent need to modernize our roads and bridges, electricity grid, ports and rail systems. b. Whilst agriculture and industrial output have recovered since the recession, we are more committed than ever to work with the private sector to improve productivity and accelerate economic growth. c. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index which is the gauge of manufacturing activity in the country has also risen for 26 consecutive months since March 2017 indicating continuous growth and expansion in our manufacturing sector. d. It still takes too long for goods to clear at our seaports and the roads leading to them are congested. It still takes too long for routine and regulatory approvals to be secured. These issues affect our productivity and we are committed to addressing them permanently. e. Our Government will continue work to reduce social and economic inequality through targeted social investment programs, education, technology and improved information. f. Our social intervention programs are a model for other nations. Together with state governments, we provide millions of school children with meals in primary schools, micro loans to traders and entrepreneurs, skills and knowledge acquisition support to graduates and of course, conditional cash transfers to the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. Database of poor and vulnerable households g. A database of poor and vulnerable households is being carefully built based on age, gender, disability, educational levels for proper planning in this Administration’s war against poverty. h. A database of unemployed but qualified youth has also been developed under the National Social Investment Programme which can be used by the public and private sectors for recruitment purposes. Cumulatively, nearly 2 million beneficiaries have received aid under this Programme apart from Anchors Borrowers Programme and School Feeding initiative each reaching 2 million recipients. And we will do more. Much more. Fellow Nigerians, Your Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen, we know that there exists a strong correlation between economic inequality and insecurity. When economic inequality rises, insecurity rises. But when we actively reduce inequality through investments in social and hard infrastructure, insecurity reduces. The disturbing increase in rates of kidnapping, banditry and other criminal activities can be attributed to the decades of neglect and corruption in social investment, infrastructure development, education and healthcare. This issue is further compounded by the impact of our changing climate and ecology. The ECOWAS and Sahel regions, starting from Chad all the way to Mali, are also experiencing adverse impacts of drought and desertification, which have triggered waves of human displacement; conflicts between farmers and herdsmen; terrorism; and a fundamental socio-economic change to our way of life. These issues are regional and not unique to Nigeria alone. The problems call for increased regional and international cooperation in developing a sustainable solution. As Chairman of ECOWAS, I will be hosting a regional security summit of heads of states in the Sahel to develop a Joint Strategy to continue our efforts in addressing these issues. Concludes tomorrow.
•Bashorun MKO Abiola The fortuous June 12 road: Timelines of the struggle By Clifford Ndujihe June 10, 1993: — The Abuja High Court, with Justice Bassey Ikpeme presiding, issues an order restraining NEC from conducting the presidential election. June 12, 1993: — Presidential election was held in defiance of the court order June 14, 1993: NEC publishes results from 15 states on its billboard outside its Abuja headquarters showing that M.K.O Abiola was leading in all regions of the country including Bashir Tofa’s home state, Kano. June 15, 1993: Another interim Order by an Abuja Court restrains NEC from releasing the results of the presidential elections. June 16, 1993:— NEC stops the release of the final results of the election June 23, 1993: — General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida annulled the election June 24-29, 1993: — Abiola declared himself president-elect; individuals and groups protest annulment June 30, 1993: — Campaign for Democracy (CD) an umbrella organization of 40 NGOs/ Human Rights Groups, fixed July 5 one-week nationwide protest August 1, 1993: 30 senators signed a joint motion asking the government to declare the winner of the June 12 election. August 4, 1993: — Abiola leaves Nigeria unannounced. August 12, 1993: — Government begins clamp down on activists all over the country. November 17, 1993: — General Abacha takes over power following the ‘resignation’ of Chief Ernest Shonekan. May 15, 1994: — Activists and political leaders formed the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, to press for the revalidation of the June 12, 1993 presidential election May 23, 1994: National Constitutional Conference elections begin but are massively boycotted by Nigerians heeding NADECO’s boycott call especially in the South-West. May 31, 1994: Ibrahim Coomasie, Inspector General of Police, declared NADECO illegal June 11, 1994: — Chief MKO Abiola declared self president at Epetedo, Lagos June 23, 1994: The Federal Military Government arrests Chief M.K.O Abiola on charges of treason. July 5, 1994: National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) began the longest strike in Nigerian history to protest the annulled presidential elections. July 8, 1994: Riots break out in the Southwestern states, especially Lagos, Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, as well as Edo State. August 1, 1994: Abacha meets with the Armed Forces Consultative Assembly to discuss Nigeria’s political problems and their security implications. August 3, 1994: Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) calls for a general strike in solidarity with the oil workers. August 5, 1994: An Abuja High Court presided over by Justice Abdullahi Mustapha grants Abiola a controversial and unsolicited conditional bail. August 6, 1994: Presiding judge over Abiola’s case withdraws August 8, 1994: Professor Wole Soyinka, nobel laureate and pro-democracy activist, goes to the Federal High Court in Lagos asking the Court to declare the Abacha government illegal. August 18, 1994: The Abacha government responds to the workers’ strike by sacking the Executive Council of NUPENG and PENGASSAN, and NLC, closes down three newspapers: the Punch, Concord group (owned by Abiola) and The Guardian. It announces a partial lifting of the ban on politics, allowing individuals to ‘canvass political ideas’ but not to ‘form political parties for now.’ August 19, 1994: Chief Anthony Enahoro, elder-statesman, General Alani Akinrinade, former Chief of Defence Staff, Chief Cornelius Adebayo and other NADECO officials were arrested at Sheraton Hotel and Towers. In Kaduna, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, former Governor of Kaduna State, and others, attending a meeting in his house, were arrested and later released. August 20, 1994: Chief Frank Kokori, General Secretary of NUPENG is arrested. August 27, 1994: The military government inaugurates the National Constitutional Conference. August 31, 1994: A pan-Yoruba Conference holds at Premier Hotel Ibadan. Though divided, it nevertheless manages to ask Yoruba ministers and other appointees in government to resign. September 4, 1994: Oil workers call off strike. September 12, 1994: Olu Onagoruwa, a well-known pro-democracy activist, is sacked as Attorney General and Minister of Justice for disowning eight decrees promulgated by the Government. October 1, 1994: Federal Government arrests and detains Chief Gani Fawehinmi for launching a political party, the National Conscience Party, in Lagos. November 1994: Professor Soyinka flees into exile November 28, 1994: Abacha hosts President Nelson Mandela of South Africa who has repeatedly asked for the release of Abiola from detention. December 6, 1994: The terminal date of the Abacha government is fixed for January 1, 1996 by the Constitutional Conference. Attempts to reverse the decision were overwhelmingly rejected the following day. December 17, 1994: Abacha releases Chief Enahoro after four months in detention. February 28, 1995: Brigadier Lawan Gwadabe, the longest serving governor during the Babangida regime, General Obasanjo (rtd), his former deputy, General Musa Yar’Adua, and others arrested over an alleged coup plot against the Abacha government. May 15, 1995: The National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) emerges as a protest movement for the revalidation of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential elections, June 27, 1995: The Constitutional Conference presents final report; recommends multiparty system, rotational presidency, rejects the 1991 census and resolves that the military should hand over on January 1, 1996. June 30, 1995: A military tribunal under the chairmanship of Major General Aziza pronounces judgement on the March 10, 1995 coup plotters. February 2, 1996: Alex Ibru, publisher of The Guardian titles and Abacha’s first Minister of Internal Affairs was shot and wounded by gunmen suspected to be hired assassins. June 4, 1996: — Kudirat Abiola was murdered in Lagos August 6, 1996: Presiding judge over Abiola’s case withdraws March 12, 1997: Government charges Chief Enahoro, Chief Falae, Prof. Soyinka, General Akinrinade and others with treason. December 12, 1997: Government announces a coup plot involving Generals Oladipo Diya Abacha’s deputy; Adisa and Olanrewaju former ministers of Works/Housing and Communications respectively and an array of Vanguard, THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2019 —23 both military and civilian personnel. May 1, 1998: United Action for Democracy (UAD) organizes a public protest against the adoption of Abacha as consensus presidential candidate by the five partiesMay 7, 1998: G- 34, a multi-ethnic coalition of eminent Nigerians led by Dr. Alex Ekwueme, former vice president, sends a letter to Abacha, adducing eight grounds on which the latter’s adoption as sole presidential candidate by the five political parties breached all relevant laws and urged him to decline the purported nomination. May 13, 1998: Comrade Ola Oni, a legendary radical lecturer-activist, Bola Ige, Lam Adesina and other activists, arrested over the May Day riots in Ibadan, arraigned before the Chief Magistrate’s Court, Iyaganku, Ibadan. June 8, 1998: Abacha dies June 8, 1998: General Abdulsalami Abubakar emerges as the country’s new head of state. June 9, 1998: Abubakar announces that the socio-political programme of the Abacha Administration will be faithfully pursued in order to transfer power to a democratic government on October 1, 1998 June 15, 1998: Abubakar orders the release of some high profile political detainees: Obasanjo; Dasuki, Bola Ige, Beko Ransome Kuti, Chris Anyanwu, Frank Ovie-Kokori, as well as journalists and pro-democracy activists. July 2, 1998: Kofi Annan, the UN scribe, on a visit to Abuja reports that Abiola longs for freedom and may have dumped his mandate. July 7, 1998: Chief M.K.O. Abiola dies ‘apparently of cardiac arrest’ after taking ill during a meeting which Nigerian and United States officials had with him. July 8-9, 1998: Widespread highway riots break out in response to the news of Abiola’s death; August 11, 1998: Abubakar inaugurates a 14- member Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headed by Justice Ephraim Akpata (rtd) to evolve fresh electoral guidelines and a schedule for party registration and elections within two weeks. 13 August 11, 1998: Government abrogates Decrees 9 and 10 of 1994 which outlaw the executive councils of the NLC, NUPENG and PENGASSAN. August 25, 1998: INEC announces election timetable: voters registration, October 5-19, 1998; Local Government elections, December 5, 1998; Governorship/State House of Assembly, January 9, 1999; National Assembly elections, February 20, 1999, and Presidential elections, February 27, 1999. October 9, 1998: Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Bola Tinubu and other self-exile NADECO chieftains return to Nigeria. October 19, 1998: INEC gives provisional registration to nine political associations. The associations will have to score 10 % in at least 24 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at the council polls to qualify for permanent registration. The parties are: People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), People’s Consultative Forum (PF), All People Congress (APC), Democratic Advance Party (DAP), Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ), National Solidarity Movement (NSM), People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Social Progressive Party (SPP) and the United People’s Party (UPP). December 14, 1998: Constitutional Debate Co-ordinating Committee (CDCC) headed by Justice Niki Tobi submits a draft constitution to government February 27, 1999: Nigerians vote in presidential elections, Obasanjo wins. May 29, 1999: Obasanjo sworn-in as president June 12, 1999 -2014: activists sustain crusade for immortalization of Abiola, recognition of June 12 2018: President Muhammadu Buhari said June 12 next year will be celebrated as democracy day 2019: National Assembly pass bill making June 12 public holiday June 11, 2019: President Buhari assents bill makin June 12 democracy day and May 29 hand-over/inauguration day.
Page 1 and 2: OLU FASAN STATE OF THE NATION June
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Page 5 and 6: vanguardnews @vanguardnews @vanguar
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Page 17 and 18: Obasanjo, Fulanisation and Islamisa
Page 19 and 20: No change in forex policy, says CBN
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Page 41 and 42: Continues from Page 5 Speaking furt
Page 43 and 44: Dr Agbakoba, SAN Restoring hope to

13062019 - Politicians, religious leaders fueling insecurity — BUHARI

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