Yemi Osinbajo, acting President, says positives results during the the two years of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration are clear for all to see.
In his national broadcast to commemorate the Democracy Day and second anniversary of the Buhari administration, Osibanjo said the economy had remained the biggest challenge of the federal government but that several measures had been introduced to revamp it. He also admitted that the fight against corruption appeared slow because of the slow nature of the nation’s justice system, but said all hands were on deck to ensure that all stolen funds are recovered and culprits brought to justice.
In the area of security, the acting President said the government’s achievements in the North East where the Boko Haram sect openly challenged the nation’s sovereignty were clear enough for all to see. According to him, under the present administration, the nation’s military immediately began to put Boko Haram on the back foot, adding that the nation restored broken-down relations with its neighbours, Chad, Cameroon and Niger – allies without whom the war against terror would have been extremely difficult to win.
He added that the government has reorganised and equipped its Armed Forces, and inspired them to heroic feats; and also revitalised the regional Multinational Joint Task Force, by providing the required funding and leadership. “The positive results are clear for all to see. In the last two years close to one million displaced persons have returned home. 106 of our daughters from Chibok have regained their freedom, after more than two years in captivity, in addition to the thousands of other captives who have since tasted freedom,” said Osinbajo.
Continuing, he said, “Schools, hospitals and businesses are springing back to life across the Northeast, especially in Borno State, the epicentre of the crisis. Farmers are returning to the farms from which they fled in the wake of Boko Haram. Finally, our people are getting a chance to begin the urgent task of rebuilding their lives.”
He also said that across the country, in the Niger Delta, and in parts of the North Central region, the government is engaging with local communities, to understand their grievances, and to create solutions that respond to these grievances adequately and enduringly. “President Buhari’s New Vision for the Niger Delta is a comprehensive peace, security and development plan that will ensure that the people benefit fully from the wealth of the region, and we have seen to it that it is the product of deep and extensive consultations and that it has now moved from idea to execution. Included in that New Vision is the long-overdue environmental clean-up of the Niger Delta beginning with Ogoni-land, which we launched last year. More recent threats to security such as the herdsmen clashes with farmers in many parts of the country sometimes leading to fatalities and loss of livelihoods and property have also preoccupied our security structures,” Osinbajo emphasized.
He admitted that the economy has proven to be the biggest challenge of all: “Let me first express just how concerned we have been, since this administration too office, about the impact of the economic difficulties on our citizens. Through no fault of theirs, some companies shut down their operations, others downsized; people lost jobs, had to endure rising food prices. In some States, civil servants worked months on end without the guarantee of a salary, even as rents and school fees and other expenses continued to show up like clockwork.”
Overall, Osinbajo said the early months of 2017 showed the early signs of all the hard work of the administration’s first 18 months. He urged Nigerians to live in peace and harmony with one another as well as seek peaceful and constitutional means of expressing the wishes and desires.