I am immensely grateful to God for this
day and for this hour. I feel truly
honoured and humbled that the Nigerian
people have so clearly chosen me to lead
them. The official announcement from
INEC was the moment the vast majority of
Nigerians had hoped and been waiting for.
Today, history has been made, and change
has finally come. Your votes have changed
our national destiny for the good of all
Nigerians.
INEC has announced that I, Muhammadu
Buhari, shall be your next president. My
team and I shall faithfully serve you.
There shall no longer be a ruling party
again: APC will be your governing party. We
shall faithfully serve you. We shall never
rule over the people as if they were
subservient to government.
Our long night has passed and the daylight of
new democratic governance has broken across the
land. This therefore is not a victory for one man
or even one party . It is a victory for Nigeria and
for all Nigerians. Millions of you have worked for
this da y . So many have risked life and livelihood;
and others have died that we may witness this
moment.
And it is with a very heavy heart that I report
many deaths and injuries amidst the jubilations
yesterda y . W e send our sincere condolences to
the families and friends of those who lost their
lives; and wish speedy recovery to those who
suffered injuries. I appeal to all our supporters
to celebrate this victory with prayers and
reflection instead of wild jubilation.
May the souls of those who died rest in peace. Let
us take a moment of silence to honour all of
those whose sacrifices have brought us to this
fine and historic hou r . As the results of the
election have shown, their labor has not been and
will never be in vain. Democracy and the rule of
law will be re-established in the land.
Let us put the past, especially the recent past,
behind us. We must forget our old battles and
past grievances—and learn to forge ahead. I
assure you that our government is one that will
listen to and embrace all.
I pledge myself and our in-coming
administration to just and principled governance.
There shall be no bias against or favouritism for
any Nigerian based on ethnicit y , religion, region,
gender or social status. I pledge myself and the
government to the rule of law , in which none
shall be so above the law that they are not
subject to its dictates, and none shall be so below
it that they are not availed of its protection.
Y ou shall be able to go to bed knowing that you
are safe and that your constitutional rights
remain in safe hands. Y ou shall be able to voice
your opinion without fear of reprisal or
victimisation. My love and concern for this nation
and what I desire for it extends to all, even to
those who do not like us or our politics. Y ou are
all my people and I shall treat everyone of you
as my own. I shall work for those who voted for
me as well as those who voted against me and
even for those who did not vote at all. We all live
under one name as one nation: we are all
Nigerians.
Some unfortunate issues about my eligibility have been raised during the campaign. I wish to state that through devotion to this nation, everything I have learned and done has been to enable me to make the best possible contribution to public life. If I had judged myself incapable of governing I would never have sought to impose myself on it. I have served in various capacities and have always put in my best but despite the rancour of the elections, I extend a hand of friendship and conciliation to President Jonathan and his team. I hereby wish to state that I harbour no ill will against anyone. Let me state clearly that President Jonathan has nothing to fear from me. Although we may not agree on the methods of governing the nation, he is a great Nigerian and still our president. He deserves our support and permanent respect by
virtue of the office he has held. This is how an
honourable nation treats its servants and
conducts its affairs; and this is how Nigeria
should be.
I look forward to meeting with President
Jonathan in the days to come to discuss how
our teams can make the transition of administrations as efficient as possible.
Here, I want to thank my party for selecting me
as its candidate. I thank our party leaders and
members for the steadfast contributions they
made to bring our dream to fruition. I thank
INEC, the police and all other government
agencies for performing their tasks in a proper
manner and for refusing to be induced to
undermine the election and the democratic
process.
I also wish to thank religious Leaders, traditional
leaders, the media, labor unions, Civil Society
organisations, organised private secto r , youths
and students for their roles in this election.
I give special thanks to President Obama and his
timely intervention and support for peaceful and
credible elections in Nigeria and for sending
Secretary John Kerry and other United States
officials. The European Union - especially the
United Kingdom, France, Germany and other
nations that were actively involved in ensuring
the success of this election are equally
appreciated. My sincere thanks to the United
Nations Secretary General Mr Ban-Ki Moon. The
Commonwealth, China, India and other Asian
and Gulf states are also hereby appreciated.
Finally our brothers in the African Union and
ECO W AS have truly and clearly shown and
demonstrat e their commitment to our
democratisation process. Former P residents John
Kuffou r , Amos Sawye r , Bakili Muluzi and his
team are well appreciated. I must also add my
appreciation for the role played by civil societies,
national and International observers, other
world leaders in ensuring that Nigeria holds free
and fair elections.
I assure all foreign governments that Nigeria will
become a more forceful and constructive player
in the global fight against terrorism and in other
matters of collective concern, such as the fight
against drugs, climate change, financial fraud,
communicable diseases and other issues requiring
global response. I want to assure our fellow
African nations that Nigeria will now stand as a
more constructive partner in advancing the
matters of concern to our continent, particularly
with regard to economic development and
eradication of povert y .
Former head of state and president Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo, General Y akubu Gowon, Alh.
Shehu Shagari, General Ibrahim Babangida,
Chief Ernest Shonekan and General Abdulsalami
Abubakar deserve commendations for their
statesmanship and words of caution and counsel
for peace during the tense moments of this
electoral period.
Most of all, I thank the people of Nigeria for
reposing their confidence in me at this trying
moment. Our nation wrestles many challenges
including insecurit y , corruption, economic
decline. I pledge to give you my best in tackling
these problems. The good people of Nigeria, your obligation does not end with casting your ballot. I seek your voice and input as we tackle these problems. This will not be a government democratic only in form. It will be a government democratic in substance andi n how it interacts with its own people.
No doubt, this nation has suffered greatly in the
recent past, and its staying power has been
tested to its limits by crises, chief among which is
insurgency of the Boko Haram. There is no doubt
that in tackling the insurgency we have a tough
and urgent job to do. But I assure you that Boko
Haram will soon know the strength of our
collective will and commitment to rid this nation
of terro r , and bring back peace and normalcy to
all the affected areas. We shall spare no effort
until we defeat terrorism.
Furthermore, we shall strongly battle another
form of evil that is even worse than terrorism—
the evil of corruption. Corruption attacks and
seeks to destroy our national institutions and
character . By misdirecting into selfish hands
funds intended for the public purpose,
corruption distorts the economy and worsens
income inequalit y . It creates a class of unjustly-
enriched people.
Such an illegal yet powerful force soon comes to
undermine democracy because its conspirators
have amassed so much money that they believe
they can buy government. We shall end this
threat to our economic development and
democratic survival. I repeat that corruption will
not be tolerated by this administration; and it
shall no longer be allowed to stand as if it is a
respected monument in this nation.
I ask you to join me in resolving these and the
other challenges we face. Along the wa y , there
will be victories but there may also be setbacks.
Mistakes will be made. But we shall never take
you for granted; so, be rest assured that our
errors will be those of compassion and
commitment not of wilful neglect and indifference.
We shall correct that which does not work and
improve that which does. We shall not stop, stand
or idle. We shall, if necessary crawl, walk and
run to do the job you have elected us to do.
I realise that the expectation of our people today
is as high as their commitment to change has
been strong and their belief in us unshaken.
While we pledge to begin doing our best without
dela y , we would like to appeal to them to
appreciate the gravity of our situation, so that
we become more realistic in our expectations.
W e will govern for you and in your interests. Y our
vote was not wasted. This is not the first time
Nigerians have cast their votes for us, and this is
not the first time they have been counted; but
this is the first time that the votes have been
allowed to count. With the help of God, we pledge
to do our utmost to bring forth the Nigeria you
seek.
Thank you for your patience and attention.
General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR
President-Elect,
Federal Republic of Nigeria
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