President Muhammadu Buhari says “no government since 1999 has done what we have done in six years to put Nigeria back on track.”
The president said this on Friday in his speech marking the country’s 61st Independence Day.
The presidents that governed Nigeria since the country returned to democratic government after 25 years of military rule are: Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007), Umaru Musa Yar’adua (2007-2010), Goodluck Jonathan (2010- 2015), and Muhammadu Buhari (2015 to date).
Buhari, in his speech, said his administration has achieved a lot in the last six years in infrastructure, social care, governance, Nigeria’s image and influence in Africa and the international community.
“But critics misdiagnose incremental progress as stagnation. Since coming to power, this administration has tackled our problems head-on in spite of the meagre resources,” Buhari said.
“I fully understand the anxiety of many Nigerians on the inability of this country to go beyond a never-ending potential for becoming a great nation to an actually great one.
“As we begin to celebrate our sixty-one years as a Nation, we need to be conscious that Nigeria does not start and end with the Federal Government at all arms and levels as well as the private sector, and more importantly individuals, have a role to play.
“In particular, security is a bottom-to-top undertaking. Joining hands and hearts together would enable us to secure ourselves and our country.”