Nigeria’s re-elected president Muhammadu Buhari: in his own words
Muhammadu Buhari, re-elected president of Nigeria, made many promises before he first won power in 2015: vowing to defeat Boko Haram, tackle corruption and boost the economy.
With none of these fulfilled — and the economy recovering from recession — he portrayed himself as a continuity candidate, hammering home a similar message.
He framed the issues as unfinished business, saying in a campaign speech in November his government had “laid the foundation for a strong, stable and prosperous country”.
“Foundational work is not often visible, neither is it glamourous,” Buhari added.
Here is what he has said and promised on the campaign trail:
– On insecurity –
“We delivered on our commitment to secure the territorial integrity of our nation in the face of a raging insurgency that devastated many parts of the northeast.
“We believe we can implement the painstaking and comprehensive policy to bring an end to the conflict between farmers and herders”.
Televised address, February 2019.
– On corruption –
“Concrete progress has been made but there is still much to do. We have repatriated hundreds of millions of dollars stowed away in foreign banks.
“These funds have been transparently deployed on infrastructural projects and used to directly empower the poorest in society”.
Facebook, January 2019.
“Grand-scale corruption perpetrated at the highest level of government is now a thing of the past.”
Campaign speech, November 2018.
“A Yoruba proverb states that only the patient one can milk a lion. Likewise, victory over corruption is difficult, but not impossible.”
Campaign address, November 2018.
– On the economy –
“The economic recovery that we promised is well under way… In 2018 the economy grew by 1.93 percent…
“Remarkably the strong economic performance was driven by the non-oil sector which grew 82 percent as of a full year.
“These results further underscore our commitment to diversifying the economy away from dependence on oil.
“Our next task is to redouble our efforts, accelerate growth and use it to create even more jobs for our people.”
Televised address, February 2019.
– On jobs –
“Train 200,000 youths for outsourcing market in technology, service and entertainment.”
Campaign manifesto
“The next level of effort focuses on job creation across various sectors.
“An enlargement of the N-Power programme. There is scope for more than 15 million new jobs.”
Campaign speech, November 2018.
“The Central Bank has cumulatively lent over 120 billion naira to 720,000 smallholder farmers cultivating 12 commodities across the 36 states and the FCT (Federal Capital Territory).
“Targeted crops and livestock have included cattle, poultry, fish, cassava, soybeans, groundnut, ginger, rice, cotton and maize and as a result we have seen a remarkable rise in the production of key agricultural commodities.
“Our interventions have led to improved wealth and job creation.”
Televised address, February 2019.
– On infrastructure –
“Our administration has a deliberate policy to close Nigeria’s significant infrastructural deficit.”
Campaign speech, November 2018.
“Our commitment to critical infrastructure, that is roads, rail, bridges, airports and seaports, will create more jobs, improving the efficiency and competitiveness of our industries.”
Campaign speech, November 2018.
– On education –
“Increase of children fed under the School Feeding Programme from 9.2 million to 15 million.”
Campaign manifesto.
“We will remodel 10,000 schools everywhere and retrain our teachers to impart science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.”
Campaign address, November 2018.
– On social investment –
“We are providing direct support to over 13 million Nigerians who need it by giving relief and assistance to unemployed youth, our children, the weak and vulnerable as well as small and medium businesses.”
Campaign website, November 2018.
– On claims he had died –
“It’s the real me, I assure you.”
Denying rumours he had died and been replaced by a lookalike, December 2, 2018
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