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Rhetorical Analysis of the Inaugural Speech of President Muhammadu Buhari

Related Papers

Journal of English Scholars' Association of Nigeria

Emmanuel C . Eze

This article examines the rhetoric strategies and ideological constructs employed in Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's inaugural speech. Drawing upon discourse analysis and critical discourse studies, the study aims to uncover the linguistic and rhetorical devices used by President Tinubu to shape public perception, convey political ideologies, and establish his leadership agenda. By analyzing the speech, this paper sheds light on the implications of the discourse in terms of power dynamics, identity construction, and socio-political ideologies within the broader Nigerian context. The study found, among others, that President Tinubu deployed rhetoric tools like logos, ethos and pathos in passing his message across to his audience. He also used such linguistic devices like parallelism, metaphor, and human deixis to relate his feelings for the past administration, his intention for his administration and his view of what roles Nigerians need to play in order to make Nigeria a better country. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of rhetoric in political communication and provide insights into President Tinubu's vision for governance and policy-making in Nigeria.

UJAH: Unizik Journal of Arts and Humanities

Chinwe Ezeifeka

European Scientific Journal

Babatunde�� Orungbeja

Public addresses constitute potent platforms through which public figures review their policies and articulate their plans. They provide insights to the priorities of the government, elicit public sympathy and support for the government. Contrarily, there has been a seeming dissonance between the national addresses of President Muhammadu Buhari and the reality of the Nigerian citizenry. To this effect, this research purposed to conduct a critical discourse analysis of President Buhari's national addresses against the backdrop of development in Nigeria between 2015 and 2021. The research explicated the interplay between the concepts of language and ideology in text, for the enactment of human development. The general population of this research comprised all the 27 televised speeches delivered by President Muhammadu Buhari in Nigeria from 2015-2021. The targeted population of 20 national addresses were adopted using a purposive sampling technique. The addresses are the Inaugural Day address of 2015, all New Year's Day addresses, Democracy Day addresses and all Independence Day addresses. Coding sheet was used to gather data directly from the original full text discourses of the President, as presented to the citizenry. The research findings show that the President's discourses framed national development issues as direct and key responsibilities of the government which require well experientially. This research also recommended that politicians and their speech writers should effectively and positively adopt the use of discourse framing to promote societal progressive growth.

Nigerian Educational Digest(NED)

This paper is a critical analysis of President Muhammadu's COVID-19 Speech in Nigeria it is an attempt to explore the various discursive practices embodied in the speech, and analyze the power dynamic at play between the president and th his audience. The speech was delivered shortly after the confirmation of Nigeria's first case on the 27 February, 2020. The researcher selected a speech as the source of data for the study. A two-level analysis was integrated in examining the critical discourse. The speech was critically analysed using the adapted Norman Furlough's three-dimensional Analytical Models. Following the models, the speech was subjected to description (text), interpretation (processing) and explanation (social practice) analyses. At the second level, in order to determine how President Muhammadu Buhari's frames the core issues in the speech, two strategies of political discourse were employed. These strategies were creativity and Metaphor. The study finds out that President Muhammadu Buhari's uses these strategies competently in terms of employing them to deliver his messages. He also uses the creative expressions to show the reality as it is, such as the current state of affair and the measures taken to contain the potential challenges of COVID-19 in Nigeria. The language of power is evident in the speech, as evidenced by the president assuming the role of a paternal figure in the discourse. Overall, the president's speech is largely characterized by an authoritative, top-down approach, with the president privileging his own voice over that of his audience. Hence this study presents President Muhammadu Buhari's use of power and language in his speech, and provides insights into the communicative behavior of the Nigerian president in time of crisis.

Baltic Journal of English Language, Literature and Culture

Samuel Edem

That language is used to convey a broad sense of meanings and that the meanings that are conveyed with language are moulded by our immediate social, political and historical conditions are safe assumptions about the efficacy of language. This paper discusses language techniques and literary devices for national messaging to ascertain their functions in national discourse. To achieve this aim, the study examines purposively sampled excerpts from Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari’s Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2019, using insights from practical stylistics. This is to determine whether the language and literary devices have been deployed effectively to the speech’s content. The language and literary devices observed were reference items, to signal solidarity and inclusivity; evidential clauses, to consolidate the argument raised; capitalisation, to foreground the issues discussed; name-calling, to ridicule political opponents; the praise tactic, for self-promotion and positive ...

PUBLISHED BY DYNAMIC MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF NIGERIA DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY, ABRAKA, DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Kilani Sakiru Opeyemi , Ajayi, Owolabi Badmus

Language is capable of revealing the ideologies of a speaker during a discourse. Through language, politicians communicate their views, thoughts and ideologies to the electorates and citizens during campaigns, manifestoes or inaugural speeches directly or indirectly. The speech delivered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the day of his inauguration as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria reveals his ideologies and thoughts. The paper is corpus-based and is qualitative in nature. Through Fairclough's 3D Model of Critical Discourse Analysis, the President's address is analysed focusing on detecting his ideologies. The study finds that the speaker conveys the message of optimism, dedication, reliability, tolerance, peace, unity, development and so on to Nigerians. He clearly declares his mantra of Renewed Hope with his mastery of diction that is appropriate for his audience. This reveals the ideologies of the President as being optimistic, dedicated, reliable, tolerant, peace-loving, a unity champion and an icon of development. Any future research could be on a pragmatic analysis of the same inaugural speech. The impact of language in investigating political ideologies is immeasurable and for this reason, this research is a quality addition to the existing pieces of literature in the field of critical discourse analysis.

International Journal of Linguistics and Communication

DOSSOUMOU Michel

Kebbi Journal of Language and Literature

Jalaludeen Ibrahim

Language has been a powerful tool in the hands of political leaders as most of the ideas they communicate and the activities they perform are done through the avenues created by language. These include manifesto, campaign, inauguration, policy formulation, and implementation. Politicians use language as a tool to express views and feelings with the sole intention of reshaping peoples' opinions to agree with theirs. Taiwo (2009) submits that language is central to the explanation of political stability or polarization as it moves people to vote, debate, or revolt. This suggests that the concepts of "language" and "politics" are paths bound together. In any country, the office of the President or Prime Minister is the highest, yet the position needs constant touch or link with the citizens and one of the ways of achieving this is through speech making. The present study aims at analyzing Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari's 2015 inaugural speech. The data was extracted from the 2015 inaugural speech and analyzed using the Speech Acts Theory (Austin, 1962; Searle, 1999). The findings reveal that the President relies more on expressions that perform commissive acts than other speech acts. The findings further reveal that there are intricate relationships that exist between language, power, and ideology, just as the President also tries to create a shared sense of responsibility in his inaugural speech.

Sunday Adegbenro

ABSTRACT This study is an exploration of Barak Obama and Olusegun Obasanjo’s first inaugural speeches with an in-depth focus on contrastive rhetorical analysis. The rhetorical strategies adopted by the two presidents and the ideologies inherent in their speeches are not the same despite writing for the same purpose and using the same language. Therefore, the study discusses the unique choices of these rhetorical strategies and their linguistic effects, as well as the differences and similarities in rhetorical conventions adopted by the two Presidents in their speeches. This study is carried out to investigate whether and how the linguistic and rhetorical conventions of L1 interfere with writing in L2 in order to acquaint ESL teachers with pedagogical issues second language teaching. The work employs the framework of Aristotelian rhetoric that argues that there are three elements to the art of persuasion namely ethos, pathos and logos, and the ethnographic approach that examines language in interaction. A textual analysis of the texts is done and contrastive statements made on each of the identified rhetorical strategies and ideologies in both speeches. Both speeches were sourced from the Internet and were purposively selected because they were presented in the English language by L1 and L2 users. Obama presented the ideology of responsibility, liberal democracy, strong citizenry and flexible approaches to all issues, while there is the ideology of strong nationality, self glorification and total condemnation of corruption in Obasanjo’s speech. Both speakers distinctly presented the ideologies of healthy global relation and acceptance of religious diversity in their respective environments. The speakers differently used metaphors, foregrounding, presentational strategies, preaching strategies, parallelism and indexicals to market their ideologies. Also Obama intensively used three part lists in his speech while Obasanjo di d not use it at all. However, both speakers primarily utilize ethos, slightly used pathos, and did not use logos at all. The findings also revealed that Obama’s speech was written in the British or American inductive style while Obasanjo’s speech was written in deductive style. Unlike Obasanjo, Obama places emphasis on both coherence of form and meaning. The differences and similarities discovered in this study are not unconnected with the distinct cultural and linguistic background of each of the speakers This study creates awareness on the pedagogical variations in Nigerian and American writing systems. It supports Benjamin Whorf’s relativistic assumption in contrastive rhetoric studies that empower second-language writers by acknowledging that their way of writing is specific because of their culturally based writing preferences. Key words: Rhetoric, ESL, culture, inaugural speech. Word Count: 409

European Scientific Journal, ESJ

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Nigerian senators during plenary at the newly-renovated chamber

Ranking senators’ protests, reintroduction of peace corps bill, others top stories at Senate

Senators returned to permanent chamber after two years of renovation..

Two years after, senators reconvenes in newly-renovated chamber

Senators resumed from about four weeks of Easter and Eid-el-Fitr recess on Tuesday at the newly-renovated chamber.

The upper chamber embarked on holiday on 20 March.

Ahead of Tuesday’s plenary, seats had been allocated to the 109 senators including the senate president in the chamber.

It had been under renovation for about two years and had gulped billions of naira.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari approved N37 billion to renovate the National Assembly complex in 2019. The complex is maintained and managed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

PREMIUM TIMES exclusively reported that the federal government awarded the contract for the rehabilitation of the complex to Visible Construction Limited for the sum of N42 billion.

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Many Nigerians and indeed some lawmakers condemned the renovation, describing it as a misplaced priority.

Ranking senators protest sitting arrangement

Upon resumption in the rehabilitated chamber, some senators expressed displeasure over sitting arrangement.

The aggrieved senators complained that the seats allocated to them did not befit their status as ranking lawmakers. They, therefore, requested that their seats should be at the extreme right of the front row, opposite the seats of the senate leader and the deputy senate president.

Two of them, Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe Central) and Sahabi Ya’u (APC, Zamfara North), specifically raised their voices to complain about the seats allocated to them.

At some point, Mr Ya’u could not contain his anger and had to approach the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, to complain.

The Zamfara senator was heard saying that his seat on the right side of the second row was not befitting and comfortable, despite being a ranking senator.

The senate leader tried unsuccessfully to persuade Mr Ya’u to be calm.

Mr Goje, a former Gombe State governor, also moved to the senate leader whom he told that his seat on the second row was also not befitting for a ranking senator.

He demanded immediate reversal of the sitting arrangement.

Consequently, the session became rowdy for about 30 minutes, until the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, restored calm. He asked the senators to take their seats and maintain silence.

Ranking senators are those who have spent more than a term in the upper house.

Speaking on the matter, the Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, downplayed what transpired on the floor of Nigeria’s highest lawmakers body. He insisted there was no disagreement among the lawmakers on the allocation of seats.

Vulnerable Nigerians get Senate’s attention

Vulnerable Nigerians got the attention of the Senate on Tuesday as the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, urged his colleagues to care for them in their various constituencies.

The senate president, in an address to welcome the lawmakers from the Easter and Sallah holiday, pleaded with them not to forget people struggling with poverty and ensure that dignity is restored to the marginalised.

He also asked the senators to support President Bola Tinubu eradicate poverty in the country through his Renewed Hope Agenda.

“At the same time, let us not forget those trapped in the cycle of poverty. Our fight against poverty and hunger must be total and relentless, addressing its root causes and restoring dignity to the marginalised. His Excellency, President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, His Excellency Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and many fellow Nigerians are working tirelessly to tackle this issue. It is our duty to support and amplify their efforts. Let us support the Renewed Hope Agenda.

“I am confident that we, as senators, can make a difference. We have been entrusted with an important role, and now is the time for courageous actions and strategies to drive this role. Together, let us implement a culture of care and an integrated approach to combat poverty, restore dignity to the downtrodden, and protect our precious natural resources.

“In conclusion, let us approach the work ahead with unwavering determination and a deep sense of responsibility. Once again, let us be reminded that the Nigerian people have placed their trust in us, and it is our duty to honor that trust by working tirelessly for their well-being and the progress of our nation,” Mr Akpabio said.

In July last year, the senate president came under attack for allegedly mocking the poor using “let the poor breathe” slang.

Let the poor breathe is a line from one of President Tinubu’s June 12 speech which caught up on social media and went viral.

The Akapabio’s joke attracted several reactions online. Many of the reactions condemned the joke, considering it as insensitive to the plight of poor Nigerians.

Peace Corps bill resurfaces, passed at Senate

Again, the bill to establish the Nigerian Peace Corps, a security outfit, has passed first reading at the Senate.

It had passed third reading in the House of Representatives in February and was transmitted to the upper chamber for concurrence.

The short title of the bill was read on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday and passed for first reading.

With this development, the senate leader is expected to move a motion for concurrence to enable the senate to adopt the bill and harmonise with the House before transmitting it to the Presidency for assent.

This is in line with the extant rules of the National Assembly.

The bill seeks to give legal backing to the establishment of the Peace Corps as a government parastatal and allow its members to be absorbed into the proposed organisation at commencement.

It was first introduced and passed by the 8th National Assembly but former President Muhammadu Buhari declined assent in February 2018.

The former president cited security concerns, paucity of funds and duplication of duties of existing security agencies as major reasons for his decision.

It was reintroduced in the 9th Senate by Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) and it subsequently scaled through legislative hurdles.

It was thereafter transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent through a letter dated 8 June, 2023 and signed by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Sani Tambawal.

President Tinubu did not sign the bill before the expiration of the 9th Assembly on 13 June, 2023 and therefore, he bill became statute-barred when the 10th Assembly was inaugurated.

Last year, the bill was reintroduced in the House and this time sponsored by the Deputy Speaker, Ben Kalu, and others.

Apart from the Peace Corps establishment bill, some other bills also passed first reading in the Senate on Tuesday.

They are the Nigerian Hunters and Security Service Bill 2024, Legislative Houses ( Powers & Privileges ) Act (Amendment) Bill 2024 and National Talent Rehabilitation and Integration Agency ( Establishment ) Bill 2024.

Others are the Agricultural Research Council Act (Amendment) Bill 2024 and Agricultural Harvest and Processing Zone (Establishment) bill 2024 .

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We Won't Blame Buhari For Our Failures - Shettima

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has stated that the current administration will not blame the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari for the challenges it encountered after taking over.

Speaking during the second Chronicle Roundtable, organised by the 21st Century Chronicle, the VP said this is the most difficult time to occupy political leadership in Nigeria due to the challenges facing the country.

He said the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu decided to take a bitter pill for the country instead of settling for a placebo.

'The president chose the option that will save the lives of the people instead of the ones that will lead to the prolong the economic death. We will not resort to put the blame on previous administration as leadership is about courage, continuity.'

'Before we took charge, the biggest elephant in the room was about fuel subsidy removal. It was an albatross round the neck of the nation for the past 20 to 30 years. We understood why our predecessor decided to remove subsidy because there were no sufficient budget for it in the fiscal year.

'A year before we took office, Nigeria's debt service to revenue ratio had grown to 111.18 percent. It was an economic death sentence. To be plain to us, our debt service was that if you earn N100,000, you are forced to borrow an additional N11,800 to pay the debtor. How do we intend to survive this? It will be long before we become a pariah.'

He added that the subsidy has led to diversion of resources from critical sectors and laced with corruption masterminded by subsidy regime.

'We have to jettison the subsidy regime, it was a bitter pill to swallow but we had to do it.'

On the economy reforms it is carrying out, he said: 'A presidential candidate in the last election, eager to mock our economic trajectory once pointed Argentina as a model to Nigeria and became an overnight market specialist. He was convinced that we have missed our way and should have adopted the ways of our friends in South America.

'Barely two weeks, we watched as Argentina's inflation rate surged. We respect what the president is doing there but governance is not photocopying.'

He said the intervention of CBN and NSA to neutralise influential currency manipulators that have conspired to frustrate its reforms led to the saving of the Naira.

'Today, I stand proud to say that our intervention has translated into desirable goals. Naira speculators were projecting that the Naira will go as far as N5,000 to the dollar. Some bought the dollar at the rate of N2,000 from banks.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, said the government need to ensure it proves the economic situation as there are lots of people who are not wishing the country well.

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Tinubu dodged a bullet by not appointing El-Rufai as minister - Shehu Sani

Shehu Sani talks about Nasir El-Rufai, Bola Tinubu, Muhammadu Buhari, social media, and his future ambitions.

Nasir El-Rufai's two terms as the governor of Kaduna between 2015 and 2023 have been labelled by critics as the state's darkest moment in the modern era.

Recommended articles.

Senator Shehu Sani , a Kaduna native and prominent lawmaker of the 8th National Assembly, has remained one of his most outspoken critics.

In an exclusive interview, the politician shared his insights into El-Rufai's leadership style, the plight of the people of Southern Kaduna, the economic drought of the state and the relentless killings that happened during his administration.

The former lawmaker also revealed the story behind the controversial $350 million allegedly sourced from the World Bank through fraud and assessed the performance of President Bola Tinubu and his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari .

What have you been up to lately?

Well, I am a typical Nigerian. I am with my family and watching events in the country. That's all.

Speaking of events in the country. What's your take on Femi Gbajabiamila's involvement in the Betta Edu saga and the role of social media in that event?

Let me tell you the history of these things. Social media has become the police, the people's police. Yes. It has also become the people's parliament. It has also become the people's army.

It is the medium from which government can be brought down and also the medium from which government can be held back up. People can create stories that never existed, post, and share them. And then the reputation and integrity of someone can be damaged by that. So, there were attempts to regulate social media.

In the 8th Senate, Bala Ibn Na'allah tried to bring out a bill to regulate social media. We shut it down. In the 9th Senate, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi and Senator Sani Musa, all from Niger State, tried to bring out some laws that would control social media and it was brought down. Sometimes, I think the former Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed raised issues around social media and now, it has come to the fore under this administration.

But you see, it's like destroying the ladder that took you up. In Nigeria's political history and political space since 2014, social media was used by the APC to bring down Jonathan's government. But after that, it became impossible for those who were in a position now in power to tolerate the same poison they fed others. So that is why the discomfort now.

This shows the hypocrisy in the lives of the people in the position of authority. They used it to achieve their aim and now, they are afraid of it. I don't think they want to regulate social media because of fake news. People in power want to regulate the media to protect themselves from criticism.

In the last 10 years, I've seen cases where people were arrested for posting messages either on Facebook, Twitter, or on Instagram. So our own issues are that there are already laws that exist in the country. For example, if you say anything defamatory against me, there is a law to which you can be held to account, and be prosecuted for that. But if we now go to the extent of crafting laws that will incapacitate and emasculate the freedom of speech because social media is casting light on governance and people in power, then, I think we are doing a disservice to democracy.

So, when the case of Betta Edu came, I heard a lot. And I was surprised by Gbaja because he has been a progressive, one who has always defended the rights of people to express themselves. But people never knew that the social media that you oppose when you're in government, by the time you're out of government, maybe your last resort of defense.

Because when you have power, you can protect yourself and you can use it against others. But when you're out of power, you'll be vulnerable and you'll be at the mercy of those in power. And that is when the rise of freedom of speech and social media will come to a defense when your rights are being breached. So people should not destroy the ladder that took them to the position of authority and power.

Let's talk about President Bola Tinubu’s political appointments. Some people believe the president is making the same mistakes as Buhari in terms of appointment. For example, the Minister of Defense, Bello Matawalle, has tons of cases with the EFCC. What's your take on this?

Well, I thought you were going to talk about the allegations of Tinubu appointing his own kinsmen into office. I think we can put it in general terms. Ideally the people who are supposed to man political positions are people of confidence. If you are going to man transport, you will have experience in transport. If you are going to man agriculture, you will have experience in agriculture.

But when you find yourself in a political terrain and you have to share in the shared positions, the first thing is, who are those that supported me to be in office? So you may have a competent person who never supported you, and you may have an incompetent person who nearly lost his life for you. So the questions are before you. That is a dilemma you're going to have.

If you're going to appoint a minister from Sokoto, you will consult with stakeholders in Sokoto. The stakeholders are not going to give you the name of a professor from a university, or a doctor or a lawyer. They will give you the name of the person who coordinated your campaign, who was part of your campaign, who supported your campaign, or who funded your campaign. So that is the problem.

It's when you are in politics, you're able to understand this. So if he has to go to Jigawa and say, send the name of a minister, and they send the name of a Badaru, who coordinated the success of his election, he'll have to accept it. But if you're a leader who is desirous of progress and wants to change things, you'll have to balance your political interests with the greater interests of the country. And that is why you have to bring in competent people.

For the likes of Matawalle, there could be allegations against him but when you look at it, Tunubu won Zamfara State, but Matawalle lost the governorship. So if, as a leader in that state, he lost his position and delivered for Tinubu, what would Tinubu do? He is a human being, so what do you think he should do? This is the dilemma that you have in political office.

However, I believe a parliamentary system couldn't have been that complicated. So let's go to the issue of power. There are also conversations about competence.

What is a banker doing in the position of Minister of Power? I want you to dissect this conversation because as it stands, many Nigerians think he's not performing.

You see, the issue of power is one great challenge that has continued to torment our lives as a people and as a country. Any government that addresses power issues will be seen as one of the governments that have succeeded in our lives because power is the live wire of the economy.

Successive governments have failed to address the problems of power. How can South Africa be generating over 40,000 kilowatts of electricity? And we are here, floating between 8,000 to 9,000. A nation of 225 million people. So, I believe the minister would have done better in the areas of finance if he had been appointed as a Minister of Finance.

But he is simply learning on the job and a nation that wants an immediate solution and a direct approach to solving problems can't afford to wait. There are many things in Nigeria today that politics has seriously affected. For example, you have Barth Nnaji of Abia State, a man who is well-experienced in matters of electricity but you can't make him a Minister of Power because he is not an APC member.

You also have someone like Kanu Nwankwo or JJ Okocha , you cannot make them Minister of Sports because they were not one of those who campaigned. Even if they did campaign, they were not top figures in the hierarchy of the campaign.

So, politics does a lot of damage. As far as the power minister is concerned, he has erred and he has apologised and I think Nigerians will forgive him. But that ministry needs a serious man with experience who will free Nigeria from the problems we are facing. How do we explore solar energy? How do we restore, and reactivate the Mambilla power? Niger State has about five hydroelectricity dams.

And there is still no light there

Yes, and there is no light in Niger State. So when you put all these things into consideration, you come to the realisation that we need an experienced man to manage that. But we should forgive him because he must have acted out of inexperience. Nigeria is facing a serious power crisis and we need a minister who will be able to address that problem.

Let's go back to governance. Whenever Nigerians discuss bad governance, the president always gets the blame. Some people will ask, what about state governors? Do you think the president should be blamed solely for misgovernance?

We concentrate so much on what happens at the federal level. Many of our young people in the social media space, you hardly see them talk about their councillors, their local government chairmen, their members of the state house of assemblies, and their governors. They're only concentrating on what happens in Abuja and that gives space for a lot of abuse with governance and corruption at the local level.

We need to know we are a federation. If Nigeria earns ₦10,000, half of it goes to the federal government, a quarter of it goes to the state, and a quarter goes to the local government. So we all should take the blame according to the quota of our resources.

Many of these states have been crippled because of lack of a monitoring system. Governors are emperors, and whatever they want to get, they get it from their state house of assemblies. Just like what happened in Kaduna State. At the time, I was the only one fighting. I've suffered a lot of persecution especially when it comes to the issue of this $350 million loan. It will interest Nigerians to know that loan was sourced through fraud in the sense that the 8th National Assembly did not approve it.

We refused to approve it since 2018 but to our surprise, a month after we left office, money started dropping into the coffers of the Kaduna State Government, which showed that there was a deal between the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank and they were simply waiting for us to leave office. So, Kaduna State's $350 million loan was fraudulently obtained from the World Bank because the process by which the money should be sourced was not followed.

Because of that loan, I was vilified in Kaduna. This is a governor who openly called on the people of Kaduna to attack me and my colleagues in the Senate because we refused to allow them to collect money from the World Bank.

So you can see, if people like us don't stand up to dictatorship at the state level, nobody is going to do that. It’s not simply about the Federal Government, it’s about what your state does with the money allocated to it.

Does that mean you’re supporting the probe on El-Rufai’s government?

Well, it’s not about support, it is now that they are joining. They are the ones supporting my position which I have taken when they were on the other side of evil.

Talking about being on the other side of evil, is it true that there’s an ongoing feud between El-Rufai and his successor?

Well, I don’t know, and it is in the public space. One thing I know very well is that El-Rufai doesn't know who Uba Sani is and he claimed to have been with him for 20 years but he doesn’t know him. I can stand my ground on that. I don’t think there’s anybody in that state who knows him more than I do and there’s nobody in the state that knows me more than he does.

ALSO READ: Kaduna Assembly begins probe on El-Rufai's govt

I never doubted that a day like this would come. Nothing I have prophesied and predicted about Kaduna that has never come to pass. It’s the state my parents were born, it’s the state I was born, it’s the state I come from and it’s the state where I live with my family.

When El-Rufai came to contest the governorship, he didn't know anybody. We are the ones who have been on the ground and since he became a tyrant and an emperor for eight years, he fought me, insulted me, cursed me all because I disapproved of that loan. He incited people against me. Where’s he today? He’s out of power, he’s irrelevant.

You cannot bring five people today to defend El-Rufai on any media station in Kaduna. This is to show you how empty he is. He has inflicted a lot of hardship on people, he has destroyed the lives of so many people. He has misused and abused power as if there would never be an end to it. The government of Tinubu has dodged a bullet by not appointing him as a minister. He could have destroyed that government from day one.

What do you consider his biggest mistakes while in office as governor?

His greatest mistake is that he thought power is going to be forever and in the course of that, he ruled without mercy and human face. He crushed people, neutralised people, destroyed the lives of so many people, and made our state a laughing stock.

The government of El-Rufai destroyed the economic life of Muslims in the northern part of the state by his actions. He sold the houses belonging to our state government to people many of whom are not from our state. He sold the industries that were built since the time of Balarabe Musa to people we don’t know. He demolished the homes, shops, and the livelihoods of many people. He destroyed the civil service in the state by sacking thousands of workers. He conducted useless aptitude tests and sacked many teachers who were degree holders. In a certain aptitude test he conducted, he determined who passed and who failed.

For the Christians in Southern Kaduna, he treated them like blacks in apartheid South Africa. They were systematically marginalised from the government and terrorists were killing them, burning their houses, inflicting hardship on them and the state government did nothing.

Southern Kaduna in the eight years of El-Rufai was a living hell. The people there were treated like slaves, like outcasts, like blacks in South Africa. And for such a man who ruled without equity and justice, he does not deserve a national position. That is why when his name was mentioned for a ministerial position, I was the first and the last person to consistently campaign against him.

The likes of El-Rufai held Buhari hostage. Do you know that Buhari lived in Kaduna State more than he lived in his state Katsina? He lived in Kaduna for almost 45 to 50 years. Since 2003, the people of Kaduna have been voting for him. Many people were killed in Kaduna because of Buhari, many were arrested because of Buhari, many were persecuted by previous governments because of Buhari.

But I can tell you, since Buhari became the president, the ward he lived in is the same ward I lived in, he has never called for a meeting with his people who are either poor, or who don't have jobs, or who don't have admission.

These are the same people who fought for you, who suffered for you. The likes of El-Rufai prevented him from meeting with the people of Kaduna. Buhari boycotted Eid in Kaduna since he became president and went to Daura . Can you tell me any serious federal presence you have seen in Kaduna? But that is where he gave birth to all his children, that is where he lived, that’s where he retired and that is where he became the president of Nigeria in 2015. The people of Kaduna have simply suffered and have not gotten anything from him.

What are your plans for 2027? Are you eyeing the seat of your friend, Governor Uba Sani?

As far as my political future is concerned, it will be dependent on the consultations and the reach out that would happen most likely by next year. It will shape where and what I want to be.

For now, we simply pray for good health and we also pray for Allah’s protection. It’s only Allah that would decide in the end. So, as far as I'm concerned, I leave it to God to decide. But I can assure you that if I am alive and healthy, I am not retired from politics yet, I am still going to aspire for political positions, that one is for sure, but that would be determined by the consultation which I have made.

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Full Text of President Buhari’s Independence Day Speech

INDEPENDENCE DAY ADDRESS BY MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA DELIVERED ON THE OCCASION OF NIGERIA’S 62ND INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION ON 1ST OCTOBER, 2022

Fellow Nigerians,

I address you today, with a deep sense of gratitude to God and a high level of appreciation to all Nigerians whose tremendous goodwill gave me the opportunity to provide leadership for our great country at one of the trying times in her history.

2.​Conscious that today’s address would be my last on an Independence Day as your President; I speak to the millions of Nigerians, who believed in me, propelled and stood by me in my quest to bequeath a country where all citizens have equal opportunities to achieve their lives desires in a peaceful atmosphere.

3.​I am honoured to say that my story in the annals of Nigeria’s history is no household secret. My various attempts, failures and eventual success in being elected as a Democratic President in 2015 was made possible by the majority of Nigerians.

4.​ When you elected me, I readily acknowledged that the tasks before me were daunting but surmountable because of the growing national consensus that our chosen route to national development was democracy.

5.​This democracy was to be anchored on a clear understanding, application and the principles of separation of powers supported by a reformed public service that is more effective.

6.​I then pledged to Improve the Economy, Tackle Corruption and Fight Insecurity and this was further strengthened by my commitment to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years as the central plank of my second term in 2019.

7.​To the Glory of God and His Grace as well as the commitment and passion displayed by many Nigerian supporters, we have made appreciable progress in these areas but not yet at our destination.

8.​Mindful of the task before us, we took some time in settling down and we re-positioned the Economy by providing strategic interventions in core areas at both the Federal and Sub-National levels.

9.​One of the areas where we have made significant progress is in the eradication of deeply entrenched corruption that permeates all facets of our national development.

10.​We strengthened the Institutions for tackling corruption and also cultivated international support, which aided the repatriation of huge sums of money illegally kept outside the country.

11.​The increasing number of prosecutions and convictions, with associated refunds of large sums of money is still ongoing. Furthermore, we would continue to block opportunities that encourage corrupt practices.

12.​In order to address Insecurity, we worked methodically in reducing Insurgency in the North East, Militancy in the Niger Delta, Ethnic and Religious Tensions in some sections of Nigeria along with other problems threatening our country.

13.​Our efforts in re-setting the economy manifested in Nigeria exiting two economic recessions by the very practical and realistic monetary and fiscal measures to ensure effective public financial management. In addition, the effective implementation of the Treasury Single Account and cutting down on the cost of governance also facilitated early exits from recessions.

14.​Fellow Nigerians, this administration removed several decades uncertainty for potential Investors in the Oil & Gas sector with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021. This landmark legislation created opportunities for foreign investments in addition to improving transparency in the management of the sector.

15.​Our administration has given the desired priority to the Agricultural Sector through a series of incentives to Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises that resulted in creating millions of jobs. Leading this initiative, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in a number of areas as well as the Anchor Borrowers Programme had created the required leverages for Nigerians towards self-sufficiency in food and the necessary attraction for farming as a business.

16.​The growing contribution of non-oil exports, especially in agriculture, information and communication technology as well as the performing arts to our national economy will enhance our foreign exchange earning capacity.

17.​We are confronting current economic challenges such as debt burden, growing inflation, living standards and increasing unemployment accentuated by our growing youthful population. These problems are globally induced and  we would continue to ensure that their negative effects are addressed in our policies.

18.​This administration will continue to ensure that our fiscal policies are supported by a robust and contemporary monetary policy that recognises our peculiarities in the midst of the growing global economic difficulties.

19.​This is evidenced by the recent Monetary Policy Committee decision to maintain all parameters, especially interest rates and marginally increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) from 14% to 15.5% and the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) from 27.5% to 32.5%. It is projected that this would further insulate our economy from over exposure to uncertainties at the international market by restraining growth in core inflation.

20.​As we continue to de-escalate the security challenges that confronted us at inception of this administration, newer forms alien to our country began to manifest especially in the areas of kidnappings, molestations/killings of innocent citizens, banditry, all of which are being addressed by our security forces.

21.​I share the pains Nigerians are going through and I assure you that your resilience and patience would not be in vain as this administration continues to reposition as well as strengthen the security agencies to enable them to deal with all forms of security challenges.

22.​At the inception of this administration in 2015, I provided the funding requirements of the security agencies which was also improved in my second tenure in 2019 to enable them to surmount security challenges. We will continue on this path until our efforts yield the desired results.

23.​ As we put in place all measures to ensure that Nigeria takes her place in the Comity of Nations, we recognize the importance of a well-educated populace as a panacea to most of the challenges we face.

24.​We have, therefore, pursued policies and implemented programmes designed to create a literate and proficient society that ensures that citizens are availed with opportunities for life-long achievements.

25.​I must confess that I am very pained by the recurring disruption to our tertiary education system and I am using this Independence Day celebration to re-iterate my call for the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to return to the classroom while assuring them to deal with their contending issues within the limits of the scarce resources available. This administration has made appreciable progress in redressing these issues that have been lingering for over eleven years.

26.​The Federal Government will continue to mobilize resources both internationally and nationally towards funding education to ensure that our citizens are well educated and skilled in various vocations in view of the fact that education is a leading determinant of economic growth and employment generation.

27.​Fellow Nigerians, we have also improved our health facilities, especially during and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which attracted commendation of the global community.

28.​As you are aware, Nigeria was one of the countries that defied global predictions of the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic because of our resilience, commitment and passion with which we individually and collectively managed the pandemic.

29.​This administration embarked on addressing critical ecological challenges across the country in order to mitigate the impact of Climate Change manifesting in the form of flood, soil erosion, desertification, air pollution amongst others

30.​We will continue to ensure that our infrastructure drive remains the key to Nigeria’s economic growth and for which every Nigerian will feel the impact.

31.​The Federal Government is already expanding ports operations to ensure that they provide opportunities for the growth of the Nigerian economy.

32.​We have also continued to accelerate our infrastructure development through serviceable and transparent borrowing, improved capital inflow & increased revenue generation by expanding the tax bases and prudent management of investment proceeds in the Sovereign Wealth Fund.

33.​To further open up our communities to economic activities, we have continued to boost our railway infrastructure with the completion of a good number of critical railways and at the same time rehabilitating as well as upgrading obsolete equipment.

34.​I am pleased to inform my fellow citizens that besides our emphasis on infrastructural development with its attendant opportunities for job creation, employment generation and subsequent poverty reduction, our focussed intervention directly to Nigerians through the National Social Investment Programme is also yielding benefits.

35.​There is hardly any ward, village or local government in Nigeria today that has not benefited from one of the following: N-Power, trader-moni, market moni, subsidized loans, business grants or Conditional Cash Transfers.

36.​All the aforementioned programmes along with various interventions by the National Social Investment programme, direct support to victims of flooding and other forms of disasters have provided succor to the affected Nigerians.

37.​Fellow Nigerians, no matter what gains we make, without a good governance system anchored on electing credible leaders on the basis of free, fair, credible and transparent elections, our efforts would not be enough.

38.​It is for this reason that I have resolved to bequeath a sustainable democratic culture which will remain lasting. The signing of the Electoral Act 2021 as amended with landmark provisions further assures us of a more transparent and inclusive Electoral Process.

39.​Having witnessed at close quarters, the pains, anguish and disappointment of being a victim of an unfair electoral process, the pursuit of an electoral system and processes that guarantee election of leaders by citizens remains the guiding light as I prepare to wind down our administration.

40.​You would all agree that the recent elections in the past two years in some states (notably Anambra, Ekiti and Osun) and a few federal constituencies have shown a high degree of credibility, transparency and freedom of choice with the people’s votes actually counting. This I promise would be improved upon as we move towards the 2023 General Elections.

41.​As we begin the transition process to another democratically elected government, I want to implore all aspirants to conduct issues-based campaigns devoid of hate speeches as well as other negative and divisive tendencies.

42.​I also want to express my wish that we see more female and youth participation in the forth-coming electoral cycle. I am sure that our teeming and energetic youths now realise that violence generally mar elections and so should desist from being used by politicians for this purpose.

43.​Reforms in the public sector are already yielding results especially in the delivery of services. On this note, I urge the general public to demand for citizen-centred services from the relevant authorities.

44.​On the international front, we have continued to take advantage of our bilateral and multilateral platforms to explore cooperation with friendly countries and partners whenever these areas of cooperation are to the advantage of Nigeria.

45.​Fellow Nigerians, in the past few years we have witnessed and overcome a good number of challenges that would ordinarily have destroyed our Nation. However, the indefatigable spirit of the Nigerian people has ensured that we overcome our challenges.

46.​It is in this spirit that I call on all of us to individually and collectively bring to the fore in dealing with all our development issues.

47.​I was called to serve, along with my team, I saw an opportunity to create a better Nigeria which we have done with the support of Nigerians. Almighty God and the good people of Nigeria supported us in laying a solid foundation for the Nigeria of our dreams.

​I thank you all and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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Text of President Muhammad Buhari’s speech on currency swap

My Dear Compatriots,

​I have found it necessary to address you today, on the state of the nation and to render account on the efforts of our administration to sustain and strengthen our economy, enhance the fight against corruption and sustain our gains in the fight against terrorism and insecurity which has, undoubtedly, been impacted by several internal and external factors.

​Particularly, I am addressing you, as your democratically elected President, to identify with you and express my sympathy, over the difficulties being experienced as we continue the implementation of new monetary policies, aimed at boosting our economy and tightening of the loopholes associated with money laundering.

Let me re-assure Nigerians, that strengthening our economy, enhancing security and blockage of leakages associated with illicit financial flows remain top priority of our administration. And I shall remain committed to my oath of protecting and advancing the interest of Nigerians and the nation, at all times.

In the last quarter of 2022, I authorised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign the N200, N500, and N1000 Nigerian banknotes.

For a smooth transition, I similarly approved that the redesigned banknotes should circulate concurrently with the old bank notes, till 31 January 2023, before the old notes, cease to be legal tender.

In appreciation of the systemic and human difficulties encountered during implementation and in response to the appeal of all citizens, an extension of ten days was authorized till 10th February, 2023 for the completion of the process. All these activities are being carried out within the ambit of the Constitution, the relevant law under the CBN Act 2007 and in line with global best practices.

​Fellow citizens, while I seek your understanding and patience during this transient phase of implementation, I feel obliged to avail you a few critical points underpinning the policy decision. These include:

a. The need to restore the statutory ability of the CBN to keep a firm control over money in circulation. In 2015 when this administration commenced its first term, Currency-in-Circulation was only N1.4 trillion.

b. The proportion of currency outside banks grew from 78%in 2015 to 85% in 2022. As of October 2022, therefore, currency in circulation had risen to N3.23 trillion; out of which only N500 billion was within the Banking System while N2.7 trillion remained permanently outside the system; thereby distorting the financial policy and efficient management of inflation;

c. The huge volume of Bank Notes outside the banking system has proven to be practically unavailable for economic activities and by implication, retard the attainment of potential economic growth;

d. Economic growth projections make it imperative for government to aim at expanding financial inclusion in the country by reducing the number of the unbanked population; and

e. Given the prevailing security situation across the country, which keeps improving, it also becomes compelling for government to deepen its continuing support for security agencies to successfully combat banditry and ransom-taking in Nigeria.

​Notwithstanding the initial setbacks experienced, the evaluation and feedback mechanism set up has revealed that gains have emerged from the policy initiative. 9.​I have been reliably informed that since the commencement of this program, about N2.1 trillion out of the banknotes previously held outside the banking system, had been successfully retrieved.

This represents about 80% of such funds. In the short to medium and long terms, therefore, it is expected that there would be:

a. A strengthening of our macro economic parameters;

b. Reduction of broad money supply leading to a deceleration of the velocity of money in the economy which should result in less pressures on domestic prices;

c. Lowering of Inflation as a result of the accompanying decline in money supply that will slow the pace of inflation;

d. Collapse of Illegal Economic Activities which would help to stem corruption and acquisition of money through illegal ways;

e. Exchange Rate stability;

f. Availability of Easy Loans and lowering of interest rates; and

g. Greater visibility and transparency of our financial actions translating to efficient enforcement of our anti- money laundering legislations.

I am not unaware of the obstacles placed on the path of innocent Nigerians by unscrupulous officials in the banking industry, entrusted with the process of implementation of the new monetary policy. I am deeply pained and sincerely sympathise with you all, over these unintended outcomes.

To stem this tide, I have directed the CBN to deploy all legitimate resources and legal means to ensure that our citizens are adequately educated on the policy; enjoy easy access to cash withdrawal through availability of appropriate amount of currency; and ability to make deposits.

I have similarly directed that the CBN should intensify collaboration with anti-corruption agencies, so as to ensure that any institution or person(s) found to have impeded or sabotaged the implementation should be made to bear the full weight of the law.

During the extended phase of the deadline for currency swap, I listened to invaluable pieces of advice from well meaning citizens and institutions across the nation.

I similarly consulted widely with representatives of the State Governors as well as the Council of State. Above all, as an administration that respects the rule of law, I have also noted that the subject matter is before the courts of our land and some pronouncements have been made.

​To further ease the supply pressures particularly to our citizens, I have given approval to the CBN that the old N200 bank notes be released back into circulation and that it should also be allowed to circulate as legal tender with the new N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes for 60 days from February 10, 2023 to April 10 2023 when the old N200 notes ceases to be legal tender.

In line with Section 20(3) of the CBN Act 2007, all existing old N1000 and N500 notes remain redeemable at the CBN and designated points.

Considering the health of our economy and the legacy we must bequeath to the next administration and future generations of Nigerians, I admonish every citizen to strive harder to make their deposits by taking advantage of the platforms and windows being provided by the CBN.

Let me assure Nigerians that our administration will continue to assess the implementation with a view to ensuring that Nigerians are not unnecessarily burdened. In this regard, the CBN shall ensure that new notes become more available and accessible to our citizens through the banks.

I wish to once more appeal for your understanding till we overcome this difficult transient phase within the shortest possible time.

​Fellow citizens, on the 25th of February, 2023 the nation would be electing a new President and National Assembly members. I am aware that this new monetary policy has also contributed immensely to the minimization of the influence of money in politics.

This is a positive departure from the past and represents a bold legacy step by thi s administration, towards laying a strong foundation for free and fair elections.

I urge every citizen therefore, to go out to vote for their candidates of choice without fear, because security shall be provided and your vote shall count.

​I however admonish you to eschew violence and avoid actions capable of disrupting the electoral processes. I wish us all a successful General Elections.

Thank you for listening. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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