tolerate any acts of banditry and criminality.
He said that the security agencies in the country
had been mandated to adequately deal with such act as it was capable of
truncating the peace of the country.
It will be recalled that there had been
frequent clashes between fulani herdsmen and farmers in many States
particularly in Benue, Enugu, Adamawa, Ekiti which claimed several lives.
Consequently, many stakeholders had called for ranching and grazing reserves
for the cattles.
Similarly, there had been a growing impression in some
quarters that President Buhari had not come all out to condemn the herdsmen and
find lasting solution to the problem despite ordering the security apparatus of
the country to quell the clashes.
But speaking yesterday at the graduation
ceremony of the National Defence College, NDC, for Course 24 in Abuja, the
president said his government was out to deal decisively with the matter.
He also said that steps were being taken to rebuild the insurgency ravaged north east and tackle the emerging issues of restiveness and bombing of oil installations in the Niger Delta. He said:
“On the matter of Herdsmen/Farmers
clashes, I wish to state that this Administration will not tolerate or condone
acts of banditry and criminality, under any guise.
As such, our security
agencies have been mandated to deal with such acts decisively.
“Let me state
that this Administration has been working assiduously in conjunction with our
local and international partners, to rebuild damaged communities in North East
part of our country.
Similarly, we are committed to tackling the issues of
underdevelopment and neglect in the Niger Delta area.
This is a priority we
have set before us and we intend to make appreciable gains in correcting the
ills of the past in the Niger Delta by assuaging inherent grievances.”
The
president also reiterated his pact with Nigerian upon his assumption of office,
saying he was still committed to securing the country, improving the economy
and fighting corruption.
To this end, the president said his administration had
recover billions of Naira from individuals and organizations.
“You will all
recall that on being sworn into office on 29 May 2015, I outlined certain core
areas of our national life that require immediate intervention, some of which I
would like to reiterate here today.
First, we should seek to secure the
country, improve the economy and fight corruption. As it is, this is our
unfinished business from the past and dates back to the creation of our
republic, yet to this day, corruption and poverty remain our main national
problems.
“As part of efforts to address the problem of corruption, we have set
in motion legal processes to recover whatever we can and bring to justice those
who betrayed their trust. Thus far, we have been able to recover billions of
naira from indicted companies and individuals.
In addition, through the
implementation and enforcement of the Treasury Single Account, we have been
able to save more for our nation.
“Furthermore, in our fight to end poverty in
Nigeria, we have set up social interventions and reliefs for the poor, and
already, data is being collated by the Economic Planning Office of the Vice
President in conjunction with the World Bank. “In addition, through our 2016
budget, we intend to stimulate the economy, making it more competitive by
focusing on infrastructural development; delivering inclusive growth; and
prioritizing the welfare of Nigerians.
“We believe that this budget, while
helping industry, commerce and investment to pick up, will as a matter of
urgency, address the immediate problems of youth unemployment and the terrible
living conditions of the very poor and vulnerable Nigerians”, he said.
Congratulating the graduands, president Buhari charged them to employ high
level of professionalism and technical competence in their career. He said:
“We
know that the National Defence College is a truly unique institution, one which
we believe, has empowered you with the highest levels of skills in management
practices of present day administration and governance for development of our
institutions.
“We are also very pleased to learn that the blueprints of
training at this College have kept pace with our current security environment.
In this vein, you will be pleased to note that in the last one year, through
the hard work, dedication and sacrifices made by members of our armed forces
and security services, we have been able to degrade significantly, the capacity
of Boko Haram insurgents to wreck havoc on our society.
“As strategic leaders,
you must remember that our Armed Forces have been the torch bearers of many of
our non-military innovations.
I am therefore, very happy to hear that the Graduating Course has undertaken a higher defence management and strategic research on the topic “Youth Bulge in Nigeria, Implication for National Security”.
As we seek to solve the myriad of social and political problems we
will look closely at your recommendations.
“As you graduate, I urge you to set
for yourselves befitting goals and having done so, utilise your technical
competence, skills and hardwork to realise it. I compliment all of you,
especially the award a winner, for achieving this personal milestone which I
hope is a sign of things to come.”
Follow Solenzo Blog on
0 Comments