Former Head of State and presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Major General Muhammadu Buhari has asked Nigerian youths not to be despaired by the current security, economic and political challenges facing the country.
He asked them not to give up on the country but to vote for change in the 2015 elections.
In his New Year message, General Buhari said that he found it crucial to particularly and directly engage the youths because they are the “major stakeholders of this enterprise.
“The year 2014 was a challenging one for most citizens of our dear country. We remember our compatriots who were brutishly killed or maimed by evil terrorists in 2014. I remember with a still broken heart that 219 of our children from Chibok are yet missing, let down by a country that should protect them. I remember that, even as I speak, some of our towns and villages are yet under the occupation of Boko Haram.
“Yes, it is enough for you to despair. It is enough for you to wonder if your country cares about you and can protect you. But do not despair. 2015 has arrived at a time of great discomfort; but the beauty of the New Year is that we can look forward with renewed hope and the knowledge that things can and will change.
“In Nigeria’s case, we can truly look forward to the change that the elections can, and will, bring. Our country will be secured again. Our country will prosper again.”
The APC Presidential hopeful expressed confidence that 2015 will be the year to usher in a new story, “a story of our youth creating jobs and expanding the frontiers of innovation and creativity everywhere,” from the music industry to the education sector; all such creativity and innovations that will finally bring about “a permanent shift from our debilitating dependence on the free-falling price of crude oil.”
He expressed “unshakable faith that 2015 will be the year of change.
He asked: “what does change mean?” And answered: “Change means (1) A country that 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. (2) A Nigeria in which neither you, nor your parents, families or friends will have to fear for your safety, or for theirs. (3) A Nigeria where citizens get the basics that any country should provide: infrastructure that works, healthcare that is affordable, even free; respect for the environment and sustainable development, education that is competitive and outcome-oriented in a knowledge-economy. (4) A country that provides jobs for its young people, reducing unemployment to the lowest of single digits and providing safety nets so that no one is left behind. (5) A Nigeria where entrepreneurship thrives, enterprise flourishes and the government gets out of your way so that you can create value, build the economy and aggressively expand wealth.”
As to whether all his promises are really feasible in the coming year, Buhari said that fulfilling campaign promises is the essence and outcome of leadership, and that is what his party and him promised Nigerians in 2015.
General Buhari appealed to Nigerians not to be too disappointed, angry and “so weighed down” to the point that they give up on Nigeria as a country, even though they are entitled to such negative feelings.
“Together, we can build a nation that is secure, prosperous and gives everyone a fair chance. This is the promise that 2015 holds. That is the promise that change will bring.”
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