I Am Leaving Nigeria Better In 2023 Than In 2015, Says Buhari In Farewell Broadcast
Eight years after he swept to power on a wave of promises, President Muhammadu Buhari has looked back on his tenure with a sense of fulfillment and of progress for the country under his watch.
On Sunday morning, in his final broadcast to tthe nation, the President admitted challenges to his administration and grieved for children in captivity and the loss of lives to insecurity, but his summary was clear.
“As I retire home to Daura, Katsina State, I feel fulfilled that we have started the Nigeria Re-Birth by taking the initial critical steps,” he said.
“I am confident that I am leaving office with Nigeria better in 2023 than in 2015.”
The President had promised to tackle insecurity, fight corruption, and strengthen the Nigerian economy, promises critics have accused him of failing badly on.
“I started this journey with a great deal of promise and expectation from you. I never intended to be just politically correct but to do the correct things that will make meaningful impact on the lives of the common Nigerian.”
In his broadcast, the President admitted that he started his tenure with a “great deal of promise and expectation” before moving to defend his performance and stating his conviction that “the in-coming administration will quicken the pace of this walk to see a Nigeria that fulfills its destiny to be a great nation.
In terms of the economy, critics have pointed to the numbers — worsened inflation and unemployment rate as well as a significantly weaker naira and concerning debt levels among other things — as evidence of the President’s failure in office.
He, however, holds a different position on the state of the economy.
“The Nigerian economy has become more resilient due to the various strategies put in place to ensure that our economy remained afloat during cases of global economic downturns,” he said in his broadcast.
Recalling the supply chain disruptions and economic downturn that the world witnessed between 2020 and 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the President gave his administration’s response the thumbs up.
“The deftness of our response to the pandemic still remains a global best practice,” he said.
Staying with the economy, President Buhari explained that his administration supported rural and poor Nigerians by helping them to earn a better living, backed young Nigerians up in terms of skill acquisition and strengthened the private sector. He also talked up his administration’s performance in terms of infrastructure development.
“Mindful of the need to ensure adequate infrastructure to drive economic growth, we completed age-long projects and processes notably amongst which are the Petroleum Industry Act, completion of some power projects, completion of the second Niger bridge and various important roads linking cities and states,” he said.
Credit: Channelsnews
