Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd), has said Nigerians have genuine reasons to be angry with the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
The former Head of State noted that 2014 was a challenging year for Nigerians; adding that youths also faced challenges of high unemployment under the Jonathan regime.
According to Buhari, while Nigerians, especially the youth, are entitled to be angry with Jonathan-led Federal Government, they “must not be so angry that you become violent.”
Writing on his Twitter page on Wednesday, Buhari explained that he had a special message of hope for the younger generation in the New Year.
The retired general blamed the seeming lack of entrepreneurship among the youth on unfavourable government policies, adding that Nigerians should direct their “energy and passion” towards bringing about “change” in the New Year.
Buhari said, “Oh, my dear friends, this New Year, more than ever before, I am hopeful about Nigeria. This hope inspires and excites me. Yes, you are disappointed and you are angry, as you are entitled to be. But you must not be so angry that you become violent.
“A Nigeria where entrepreneurship thrives, enterprise flourishes and the government supports you and then gets out of your way so that you can create value, build the economy and aggressively expand wealth. Are these things truly possible? Of course; that is the essence and outcome of leadership.
“Elections are not war. Politics is not a battle. We can, and we will, bring this change to Nigeria peacefully and by focusing on solutions. You should also never give in to the temptation to feel so weighed down by those who have failed you that you lose hope and use your energy and your passion to see change.”
He promised to make the security of lives and property a priority, adding that Nigerians under his administration would not “fear for their safety.”
The beauty of the New Year, Buhari added, is that it provides the citizenry with the opportunity to “look forward with renewed hope” and faith that in 2015 “we shall begin to write a new story.”
He added, “Now, some of you have asked me: what exactly does ‘change’ mean? On this special day, let me remind you: Change means a country you can be proud of at anytime and anywhere, where corruption is tackled, where your leaders are disciplined and lead with vision and clarity; where the stories that emerge to the world from us are full of hope and progress.
“A Nigeria in which neither you, nor your parents, families or friends will have to fear for your safety, or for theirs. A Nigeria where citizens get the basics any country should provide – infrastructure that works, quality health care that is accessible. A country that provides job, reduces unemployment to the lowest of single digits and provides safety nets so no one is left behind.”
But the Presidency has accused the APC of “spreading lies in a bid to ruin President Jonathan’s legacy of transformation.”
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said the dividends of the Jonathan administration cut across different sectors of the country, adding that the President would win a re-election based on his performance in office.
Abati particularly pointed to the railway system as one of the sectors in which Jonathan had impacted the lives of millions of Nigerians the most.
Writing on his Facebook page, the presidential spokesman explained that Jonathan’s “transformation of the complex Nigerian railway system,” had culminated in the free and easy movement of Nigerians “all over the country.”
Dismissing the “change” being touted by Buhari, Abati wrote, “Lest we forget; for students of History, Buhari, out of hatred and quest to underdevelop the South-West, cancelled the Governor Lateef Jakande Lagos Metroline Project contract that would have solved the Lagos transportation problem at only $78m in 1984.
“Lagos State Government has since spent a borrowed sum of $981m since 2000 on a similar endeavour to no avail. People, do you want this change? Backward never. Transformation continues; Forward Nigeria.”
The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party also passed a vote of confidence in the Jonathan-led Federal Government via its Twitter page, describing his performance in all sectors of the economy as “unprecedented.”
Source: Punch
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