Address by

His Excellency President Olusegun Obasanjo

At the Inauguration Ceremony and Commencement of Second Term as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Abuja, May 29, 2003

CONTINUITY, STABILITY AND PROGRESS

Fellow Nigerians, let us thank God for this great day in the history of our nation. Let us praise the Almighty for guiding us through many weeks of a difficult but successful electoral process, culminating in today’s milestone event of civilian-to-civilian transition, as we continue on our political journey towards sustainable democracy in a truly united nation.

Exactly four years ago to this day, I humbly accepted the mantle of leadership of this country, as determined by the mandate offered to me by the results of the preceding elections. It will be recalled that our campaign slogan had been ‘the leadership you can trust’. This was meant in the fullest sense, and I immediately embarked, with all resources at my disposal, to work hard in order to earn that trust. I am indeed delighted to regard the renewed mandate as affirmation that our leadership has been accepted as trustworthy.

Furthermore, I am humbled by the confidence reposed in our leadership by the overwhelming response to our campaign for continuity, stability and progress. Let me assure you that, for as long as God gives me the strength, I will not spare any effort in rising to this challenge of building firmly and decisively on our achievements in the last four years. By the Grace of God Almighty, we will draw on the lessons learnt so far, and, with your patriotic support, we will confidently advance towards our vision of a united Nigeria, a strong Nigeria, a prosperous Nigeria, a peaceful Nigeria, a just Nigeria, indeed a great Nigeria. This is the Nigeria of our God-ordained destiny. This is the Nigeria that is the permanent goal in our leadership vision.

I would like to offer this day, which is also the fourth National Democracy, Human Rights and Thanksgiving Day, as a prize for every Nigerian man, woman and child who in their various ways, directly and indirectly, have contributed to the march of democracy and good governance over the last four years. All Nigerians deserve commendation for their patience with a learning curve that began with the transition from the darkest episode of our history to the dawn of hope. Of course, there have been numerous bumps in the process, but we have taken them in our strides. Whereas there are a few who may have suffered as a result of the bumps, we are pleased to note that there are more Nigerians who are openly acknowledging that they have gained democracy dividends.

For all of us, today is a day to celebrate the fact that Nigeria has not only remained intact, but also that the nation is getting stronger, with institutions that are firming up, and a society that is no longer in despair because in many respects the future is looking much, much brighter.

My special appreciation goes to the Vice President and the members of the Federal Executive Council. The collective dedication and hard work of these men and women, have been the driving force for moving Nigeria forward to the point that today, we can be confident in our ability to move Nigeria forward.

Let us acknowledge with deepest appreciation the National Assembly where Senators and Members of the House of Representatives have put in their best to legislatively steer the ship of nation over largely uncharted waters. The learning process for them has not been easy, but thanks to the efforts of some of them, the next four years should hold better prospects for law-making in this country, not to mention the prospects of higher degree of harmony between the Executive and the Legislature, which is a sine qua non for the efficient and effective democratic management of affairs of this nation.

Let us thank the Members of the National Council of State for their prompt and regular regard for their constitutional responsibilities.

We must appreciate that our democratic machine could only move this far because of the supportive role of all elected officials at State and Local government levels. These officials have made vital contributions to the nurturing of grassroot democracy, which, indeed, is the base for our national democracy.

We acknowledge, with deep appreciation, the consistent support of our foreign partners over the last four years. Beginning with expression of faith in our transition, these partners have since welcomed us back into the comity of nations, where our honour has been fully restored, and we are now fully respected, as we discharge our obligations consistent with our foreign policy. We thank those foreign investors who have followed with substantial investment in our future and raised our profile for many others who are yet to come in.

Let me once again commend the INEC Chairman, his fellow Commissioners, his staff and officials who have done remarkably well in managing the last elections. The sheer scale of the logistics of moving huge quantities of materials, coordinating and conducting the voting process in thousands of polling stations across this relatively huge country, should earn INEC a place of honour in our history and among other electoral bodies in the world. INEC have not claimed perfection, and no human action can ever be described as perfect, nevertheless the post-election reviews should stand them in good stead to strengthen our democratic practice.

Fellow Nigerians, you do not need reminding that this inauguration has completed the task for which we have all fervently prayed and worked hard, namely civilian-to-civilian transition. Skeptics, basing their prediction on electoral antecedents, had predicted the worst possible scenario for our elections. Let us thank God that they have been proven wrong. And, with your mandate, I pledge to provide leadership that will consolidate this new democratic foundation and ensure that future elections will not only be successful but expedite the maturing of our nation as a truly democratic country in which Nigerians can choose their leaders without rancour.

In this context, I would like to commend the Election Tribunals for their decisions in settling disputes arising from the elections brought before them. All over the world, elections manifest various degrees of imperfection. It is for this reason that the Election Tribunals were instituted as an avenue for all those who may have grievances to seek redress. We thus note with satisfaction that the Election Tribunals are indeed serving to add credibility and faith to the electoral process.

Now is the time to once more commend all participants in these elections, including leaders of all Parties and their supporters, and of course the candidates for all the Parties. Every participant in every way has added value to the democratic principles that propelled the elections. Let me extend my hearty congratulations to all the winners into the various elected offices. I sincerely hope that you will remember always that those who elected you will continue to look up to you for leadership. To those who may not have won this time, the nation owes you appreciation for your input of dynamism into our electoral process, thus setting us firmly on the path of democracy.

Fellow Nigerians, while we celebrate today as the crowning moment of the elections, we must not forget that the process has entailed fighting on numerous fronts, especially for the political contestants who tend to see the electorate as a battleground where opponents are to be vanquished. Naturally the electioneering has meant times of heightened passion for individuals as well as groups and communities who pushed for victory. A large number of people came out of the election experience feeling hurt with mostly emotional injuries, but in some instances, regrettably, there had been physical wounds, and even death.

But the end of it all, we should - and we must - be able to look back with the satisfaction that it had been for a good cause, since we all aimed to serve the cause of democracy, through exercising our democratic right to persuade our fellow citizens to vote for us.

This is why I see my initial assignment as President in trying to heal the wounds from the elections. As clearly expressed and implied in my oath of office, I intend to use my mandate to provide quality leadership for all of Nigeria and for all Nigerians, regardless of their political persuasions. Anything less would be unconstitutional, morally inadequate, and contrary to the will of God whose wishes are my command. Above all, in adherence to my leadership vision of a greater Nigeria, the only way to advance this country that belongs to all of us, is through solidarity and hard work.

Fellow Nigerians, the coincidence of this day, with the anniversary of our National Human Rights, Democracy and Thanksgiving Day, gives us opportunity once again, to reflect on the journey since May 29^th 1999, which marked the end of fifteen years of undemocratic military rule.

We can all recall how the entire nation breathed a sigh of relief when we greeted the new dawn with a collective cry of ‘never again!”.

As the in-coming Administration, we were fully conscious of the high expectations by which the rot would immediately be put to an end, our infrastructure would resurrect from its ruins, and our comatose public services would function again. The Nigerian society was free to dream of a social organisation that would be free of rampant corruption and pervasive indiscipline. The citizens dreamt of a restoration of social values and the reinstatement of self-pride. Most of all, the feeling of despair and trauma had been such that 29^th May 1999 was perceived by many as virtually the last opportunity to rescue the nation from the edge of a precipice of demise.

In answering the challenge, we declared, without intending to dampen people’s expectations, that it be borne in mind that we did not possess a magic wand with which we could achieve instant transformation.

In answering the call to service, our fundamental assumption was that Nigeria can indeed be saved and that it must be saved by Nigerians themselves for whom this country is the only country they can call their own. Personally, I saw the retrogression as a failure of leadership and I was emboldened by my earlier experience whereby we had left legacies of what is achievable under good leadership.

Four years ago, we had no illusions that it would be easy to put right in a few years the destruction of two decades, but we did not allow the enormity of the task to force us into a retreat. Instead we took it on as a challenge and duty for the kind of leadership we believe can save Nigeria.

Mindful of the hopes and aspirations that Nigerians had in our vision for the country, our first strategy was to itemise the content of that vision into concrete steps for progressive action. The overriding consideration was that our social system desperately needed to be rationalized and made wholesome. We identified as imperative, the need to restore the rule of law. Our social institutions had to be firmly based on principles of equality, justice and peaceful co-existence. We recognised that we must enshrine the ethics of transparency, accountability and responsible leadership. And we also recognised that, in order to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life, we had to put in place an economic regime that was efficient, productive and capable of delivering perceptible results.

I can say, that to the best of my knowledge, our Administration has been consistent in staying focused on our vision. To the best of our ability, that vision has informed our thoughts, our policies and our actions.

Statistics of social indices show considerable improvements in the quality of life, as measured by higher income and stronger purchasing power. The greatest gain of all is the increase in the social capital, as measured by the amount of faith and trust that citizens now have in their social system. There is ample evidence that hopelessness and despair have been replaced by enthusiasm, hope and faith in brighter prospect for the country.

We have good reasons to take pride in our records in specific areas. In the oil and gas sector, for instance, the improvement in the last four years dwarfs the total activities in the previous 30 years!. The quantum leap in this sector has brought us closer to our target of earning substantial revenue from gas, in comparison to crude oil, during the next four years.

Our persistent drive to attract foreign investment has resulted in an increase in the number of foreign investors who have either invested in the country or are planning to do so. We have markedly improved the conditions of service of public sector employees. The private sector is reporting significant increase in business activities and legitimate profits.

On good governance, we note with satisfaction that the democratic process which commenced four years ago, is in various ways thriving, along with our democratic institutions which are showing signs of steadily maturing. The heart of good governance is a function of the Federal Executive Council, which we are proud to put on record has met regularly to take collective and transparent decisions for the running of the affairs of the country.

I am happy to note that the efforts to truncate the anti-corruption law, which forms the pillar of the fight against corruption, has been so far unsuccessful. And Due Process has made its impact on costs of contracts, supplies and purchases.

We are aware of the expectation to see rapid results from our anti-corruption crusade. Our leadership regards corruption as the antithesis of development and I would like to assure you that we are determined to fight this evil to a standstill. For starters, we have been able to put in place an anti-corruption commission which, unfortunately, has had to cope with legislative and constitutional hurdles. The Commission has brought 39 cases of corruption to court for prosecution; this is in stark contrast with none at all in the preceding 20 years. After the court battle on the anti-corruption law, we will seek to amend the initial law for expeditious handling of corruption cases in the court.

Our leadership has meant the end of governance through instruments of intimidation and coercion, because we strictly believe in participation and adherence to the rule of law. We are pleased to note that this has been welcomed by all Nigerians, who no doubt relish such freedoms as freedom of speech, freedom of political expression and freedom of political association.

We have cause to be proud of the fact that there are no political prisoners in Nigeria today. No Nigerian asylum seekers. We are proud of the freedom and independence of the judiciary, manifested in landmark judgements by the Supreme Court on issues that are fundamental to the existence and survival of our country.

Within this year, Nigeria’s image is set for a tremendous boost with the hosting of two key international events, namely, the All Africa Games and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Our image as a pariah nation is erased for good! In four years, our status as a respected nation has grown, as we have participated in and hosted a number of key summits in the international forum. And now, the success of the civilian-to-civilian transition should dispel any lingering doubts about our stability, strength and credibility as a nation to be reckoned with at all times. We will work to strengthen the democratic process and eliminate all forms of electoral malpractice so that future elections will generate less tension and enhance the quality of governance and leadership in our country.

Fellow Nigerians, in asking you to vote for continuity, stability and progress, we took due cognisance of the fact that much of the last four years, have been devoted to laying the foundation for the rebirth of our nation. As architects of that foundation, we desired the opportunity to advance the re-construction to the point where we can all have confidence in the stability of our social system. Thus we recognise, with due humility, that there is considerably a lot more that needs to be done, to get us closer to our ultimate goal of a truly re-born and truly great Nigeria.

Although, we have in place policies pointing in the direction of our objectives, we intend to intensify and consolidate progress in many areas.

On infrastructure, our vigorous policy of investment in roads, energy and water supply has begun to yield noticeable results. We intend to construct more roads and maintain old ones, to improve transportation and ease movement of goods throughout the country.

Power supply: It is our determination to improve the quality of power supply and to expand output to at least 10,000 Megawatts by the end of our second term in office. This is in recognition of the fact that our aspiration to industralise will remain impaired for as long as there is not enough energy.

Healthcare: More resources will be put into our hospitals and healthcare delivery system, not just to improve but to stop preventable deaths and raise the national life expectancy.

Education: The introduction of UBE as a priority policy underlines our commitment to provide opportunity for the education of all our citizens in order to develop their innate abilities and empower them to fully participate in the development of the country.

The UBE Programme will be completed and the Nigerian society can enjoy the privilege of having in school, all children of school age. We plan to complete the refurbishment of our educational institutions at all levels in order to make them fully operational, qualitatively and quantitatively, so as to meet the educational needs and skill development of our society.

Agriculture: Production has continued to increase year by year as a result of an agricultural policy to ensure food security for this nation through increased crop production, improved livestock husbandry as well as new marketing strategies for better returns for farmers.

We intend to pursue the various strands of agricultural policies to the level of food security when we can begin to claim that the average Nigerian is eating enough of balanced diet from food that is available and affordable.

Industry: The ongoing privatisation should advance considerably and government would be able to concentrate on its assignment of providing an enabling environment for optimal productivity in manufacturing. We note with appreciation that our efforts to encourage small and medium scale industries has so far attracted substantial amount of funds from commercial banks. We will press ahead with our plans to make this sector of the industry a vital segment for jobs and income for a large number of Nigerians.

Politics: These last general elections have finally laid to rest the beast of ethnic politics after over fifty years of its influence on the Nigerian political scene. Let us praise God Almighty and commend Nigerian voters for making this possible. We note, however, with apprehension that, while we celebrate the apparent demise of ethnic politics, there is the tragic appearance of religion in our national politics. It is imperative that we nip this in the bud, because religion mixed with politics in a multi-faith country like ours, portends destruction and devastation of our social fabric and our entire structure.

Foreign Policy: It is pertinent to observe that our elections are not important to us alone, but to all democrats in the world. Much as the success of our elections strengthens our democracy, it also adds significantly to the democratic process throughout the world. We believe that human nature is essentially the same, even though behaviour might differ according to environment and custom. Africans, in their quest for development, do indeed need to modernise their social systems, but we must remain firm and focused on our Africanness, in terms of uniqueness of customs, social values, orientation and progressive culture.

We note with satisfaction, the progress being made in ECOWAS. Nigeria is proud to be in the forefront for fast tracking programmes of integration in the sub-region.

The New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has been successfully launched and has taken off. It is the Africa Union’s sustainable continental strategy for Africa’s political and socio-economic redemption, through good governance, sound economic reforms, respect for human rights, investment in indigenous human and material resources, environmental protection and international cooperation, based on shared values, peace, common security and development.

The Africa Union itself is moving ahead in its new mission of programmes for economic integration, together with measures towards economic stability and unity. Here again, Nigeria will be in the forefront of actions to advance the progress of these programmes.

We in Nigeria, are fully aware of the recent events in the world, from which would appear that a new paradigm is evolving for a new world order. There is a clear indication that the assumptions of post second world war order, that gave hope, confidence, and security to all nations, big and small, are undergoing significant changes. We in Africa, must take note of these trends, and we must prepare adequately and accordingly, otherwise there is a serious risk that the marginalisation that we have hitherto suffered, may become complete de-linkage.

Let me, however, be unequivocal on this point: the United Nations, by virtue of its Charter and structure, has so far stood the test of time as the icon of global aspiration for international harmony and peace. Our Administration will thus continue to do everything possible to sustainably strengthen and stabilise this unique Organisation.

We must aim to fully assess all aspects of international affairs, while we cultivate new friends and cherish old ones who have supported us, but never forgetting that our objective is to be master of our fate, captains of our destiny and architects of our fortune.

There is a limit to which we can depend on outside help, as illustrated in our campaign for debt relief for over four years, with hardly any tangible results. But we will not give up, because we believe that there is great inequity and injustice in the debt issue which requires global attention.

Federal Executive Council: In order to assist me in my executive tasks, I plan to assemble some of the best men and women as ministers and members of the executive council. The appointment criteria will be: ability, integrity, competence, shared vision and good character. The performance of all ministers who will have targets, will be carefully monitored and assessed to ensure effective implementation of policies in their respective ministries. The present structure of the Presidency will be critically reviewed to include a monitoring Unit that will follow up and report on the effective implementation of policy decisions.

Fellow Nigerians, we share your hopes for a better Nigeria, we identify with your expectations that the government should be able to bring about the requisite changes. I can assure you that Nigeria is not just the number one item on our agenda, Nigeria is in fact the only item on our agenda. And your aspirations will remain top priority in all our policy decisions.

But all our efforts, all our material inputs will come to nought if they are not complemented with a change in our attitudes. Four years ago, we identified and warned against the attitude of ‘business as usual’ as a potential enemy to our vision. Our experience has confirmed this, such that some have regarded me as a loner in my belief that Nigerians can change. But I am not daunted. I have repeatedly called for moral rectitude, and I will continue to repeat the message.

I simply refuse to accept the cynical view that Nigerians prefer chaos to order. I cannot endorse the view that Nigerians are innately corrupt. I cannot believe that Nigerians would, in preference for a decent and civilised society, opt for one in which law and order is disregarded, and regulations are circumvented as the norm.

I am a firm believer in the good nature of the Nigerian, and I will continue to appeal to that good nature. My unshaken and unshakeable faith, belief in and commitment to Nigeria is anchored in my equally strong belief in the intrinsic good nature of humans, and that, given the right environment and impetus, man can change for good.

We all have a stake in Enterprise Nigeria and each of us stand a better chance in getting optimum dividends if, instead of asking ‘What’s in it for me’, we ask ‘what’s in it for Nigeria’, to determine our choice of action when our sense of duty and service is called upon. Among other things, this is the only way to ensure replenishment of that proverbial national cake which we all love so much to partake of. This is the ultimate solution for combating such negative social tendencies as corruptibility, ethnicity, lack of patriotism, lawlessness, inefficiency, diminished sense of justice, and lack of dignity and mutual respect for fellow citizens.

Today, I ask all Nigerians to come along with me in the Nigeria-craft: let us pilot and move it in the next four years, let us keep it at a cruising level that is beyond turbulence, and let us sustain an optimum cruising speed in the direction of our dreams. Let this be our hope. And let this be the challenge for all of us.

May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.