Posted on: 07:07 Fri, 17 Jul 2015



Fellow Compatriots,

I greet and felicitate with you all,
especially our citizens of the Islamic
faith on this auspicious occasion of
the 2015 Eid-el-Fitr celebrations.

I congratulate all those who have
successfully completed the Ramadan
fast in keeping with the injunction of
our Creator.

Although we have come to the end of
this year’s month of Ramadan, I
believe that a greater acceptance by
Nigerians of its key lessons of self-
denial and sacrifice will serve our
dear country well as we strive to
overcome our present challenges,
undo the damage done by years of bad governance and accelerate the pace of national development.

Reviewing our dire circumstances and the many missed opportunities of the
past, some commentators and
observers have said that this is
Nigeria’s last chance to get its act
together and finally begin to fulfill its
God-given potential for greatness.
While not going that far, I certainly
believe that now, more than ever
before, our country needs greater self-denial, sacrifice and patriotism from
all of its citizens, if we are to quickly
recover from our numerous problems
and start moving in a positive
direction.

This current period of our life as a
nation offers us a great opportunity to
break from the vicious triangle of
insecurity, corruption and under-
development. We must collectively
resolve to seize this opportunity and
unite to confront our problems.

I remain wholly committed to giving
the required leadership towards
undoing the wrongs of the past,
ensuring that Nigeria truly begins to
unlock its great potential and that the
benefits of our immense national
resources are shared and enjoyed by
all, not just by successive cabals of
corrupt leaders and their cronies.
I was very aware of your high
expectations when I assumed office
and I reassure you, my fellow
citizens, that since my inauguration
on the 29th of May this year, I have
been working with utmost dedication
to meticulously plan and tackle the
many national challenges which we
identified and promised to resolve.
To succeed however, I need your
continued support, understanding and
patience.

I fully understand and share the
thirst of my long-suffering
compatriots for corruption-free
government institutions that work
efficiently to deliver visible
development for the benefit of all
citizens.

I also share the feelings of those who
think that we should be moving
faster. But I urge them and all
Nigerians to trust that my
commitment to real and positive
change in our nation is as firm as
ever.

There is indeed much work to be
done, but we must do it well and
carefully to ensure that the great
opportunity which we now have is
not lost to the “business as usual”
group who selfishly or shortsightedly
prefer a status quo that panders to
their personal or group interests.

The adverse effects of years of rot,
corruption, inept and bad governance
on our nation are immense, but
certainly not insurmountable if we
all resolve now to place the well-
being of our nation above all other
considerations and work whole-
heartedly with the present
administration to achieve greater
peace and security across the nation,
and reposition our country for faster
economic development and progress.
May Almighty Allah continue to guide
us and bless our dear nation.

I wish you all happy Eid-el- Fitr
celebrations.