October 1, 2002 Independence Day Address

FELLOW Nigerians

TODAY marks the forty second anniversary of our
country as an independence state. It has been forty
two years during which we have experienced joy and
sorrow, tragedy and triumph, despair and hope.

We have always emerged from every crisis that
threatened the peace, unity and stability of our
country, and each time with greater confidence, and
with greater resolve. We must also remind ourselves
that in most countries, after ruthless military
dictatorship, adjustment had been painful, violent and
destructive, Yugoslavia, Soviet Union and Argentina
easily come to mind.

But on occasions when Nigerians have disagreed over
basic issues, we have always known that our
institutions are fragile, and the good lord had made
us to withstand any undue pressure on them. We must
not underestimate our achievement in this regard.

And, it has been my personal experience, and the
experience of our administration, that every trial and
every challenge that we have faced as a country has
invariably strengthened, rather than weakened us. The
perennial skuptics have always been surprised by the
resilience with which the good people of our country
have endured every difficulty we have faced. And the
reason for this is both simple and profound,
especially in the recent times.

Democracy as a way of life in Nigeria is not the
exclusive property of the leadership class. Rather, it
is the property of the people. They chose it. They
have died for it in the past, and they will die for it
in the future if the need arises. For the present,
they will defend it, not as an option, not as a mere
intellectual notion, but as their right as well as
their responsibility. We the leaders of this country
would be making a very grave mistake indeed, if we
supposed that democracy, the government of the affairs
of free citizens in accordance with the constitution,
the law, and the will of the people, is an item of
patronage to be dispensed, especially among ourselves,
by us. The only favour that leaders have that they can
give to their people is honest, sincere, selfless,
diligent, and patriotic service. And this we, all of
us, the leaders at this moment in history, must not
fail to give.

The doctrine of the separation of powers, in a
republican democratic such as we have adopted for
ourselves in Nigeria, holds both promise and enormous
challenge. On the one hand, it requires the active on
operation of all the branches of government to achieve
progress in development, and in the protection of our
rights. On the other hand, only one branch, working
alone, can quite easily pull the entire complex
structure down.

But the framers of our constitution knew all about the
computations of power, and the terrible issues to
which power, unchecked, can be put by ambitious men
and women. That is why they imposed a complex series
of checks and balances on all leaders, and especially
on leaders in the legislative and executive branches
of government.

Then two branches are expected to work independently
but in harmony, like the parts of a complex machine,
each part indispensable, each part doing its own
assigned duty, and in good faith, so that the entire
machine might be able to do work in unison and
symbolises towards a single goal, which is to get the
machine, our country, to move deliberately along the
path of progress.

We must be oriented to developmental democracy at
three levels. The first is the material or the
infrasctural level of the economy which is made up of
the system of production, distribution, consumption
and exchange. There we have chosen private sector led
market economy. We must develop capacity and
capability for production. Relying alone on our God
given natural resources, without our productive
capacity to extract, add value, and charge them into
the desired form will lead us nowhere.

The second is the institutional level which is the
system of institutions, organisations, the procedural
mechanisms for ensuring that democracy functions well.
These include the political party system, the three
arms of government and the three tiers of government
as well as the media, the civil society and the civil
service.

The third is the super structural level which is the
level of social relations, culture, values, such as
loyalty and mutual trust beliefs, attitudinal
orientation; the way people perceive such notions as
prosperity, wealth creation, and material acquisition.
In short, the totality of interpersonal relationships
within our society.

Taking everything together, the challenge we have is
one of how the State might be re-constructed to
support democracy. In this regard, Nigeria must be
rebuilt around a civil society in which all citizens
enjoy their fundamental rights, whilst being conscious
of such civic and moral responsibilities as
orderliness, love, hardwork, productivity, fearing
God, orientation to positive change and commitment to
technological innovation. And we would then have a
society where the three tiers of Government work
separately, but together, to ensure security for the
people, empower them and enhance participatory
democracy through self-organised democratic
communities.

Fellow Nigerians, it is indeed regrettable that in,
the past few weeks, undue friction has characterised
the relationship between the Executive and the
legislature, particularly the House of
Representatives. The world has empathised with us as
we went through this experience which a large number
of Nigerians would want us to put behind us.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those
elder statesmen of our land and members of the PDP
National Executive Committee who have been seized of
these problems and who have sought an amicable
solution to them. On my part, I now realise that the
issue has been that of communication, relationship and
bridge building. And I am determined to seek a lasting
solution to the situation. After all, as the President
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the buck steps at
my desk.

I am convinced that much of the acrimony and
antagonisms of recent weeks are the result of a
sluggish and inadequate communication system. This is
a weakness which has frequently led to the temptation
to attribute the lowest and basest possible motives to
leaders in all branches of government, and at all
levels of the party.

Let us debate, let us dialogue, let us even agree to
disagree, but let the task of running the affairs of
Nigeria continue unhindered, and let us have all hands
on deck for the re-building of Nigeria. We must avoid
the political paralysis of our nation.

As part of my own continuous search for ways of
delivering better service to the people of this
country, I have decided that I will work with a
greater sense of urgency to improve the structures of
both formal and informal communications, between the
Executive and the two other branches of the Federal
Government, and between the Executive and the
Secretariat of our great party.

Accordingly, the structure of communications between
the Executive and the National Assembly, will now be
decentralised. Presidential Liaison Officers will now
be assigned on a zonal basis, in both the Senate and
the House of Representatives. It will now be their
mandate to liaise not only with the leaders of the
National Assembly, but also with Senators and
Honourable Members directly, personally ad
individually. It is hoped that this will bring about a
revitalised system of communications between the
Executive, the legislature and the Secretariat of the
party, to whose manifesto our leadership owes
allegiance.

But having said this, I believe we must now all move
toward resolutely and together, leaving the vexations
and frustrations of the past behind us. For while it
is true that we cannot safely and completely turn our
backs on the past, we must at the same time never
permit ourselves to be so enslaved by it that we
overlook our primary duty, which is always to confront
the challenges of the present and of the future, using
the lessons we have learned from the past.

And the future that I speak of belongs, not to us,
perhaps not even to our own children, but to our
children's children, and to the generations that will
come after them. It is because of them that we must
seek to husband the present with diligence and
determination. It is because of them that we must
continue to see ourselves more as the agents of
change, than as the primary beneficiaries of it.

It is in this context that I have convened a
Children's Summit in Abuja, to which hundreds of
children from all parts of the country were invited.
For it is to me a matter of common sense that it, we
claim to be working for the well-being of our
children, then we must not only find a way for letting
them know what kind of future they look forward to for
themselves, and what they themselves want us to do for
them.

Furthermore, approval has been given for a multi-media
programme, aimed especially at our children, which
will use accessible and modern techniques of education
and entertainment to transmit the core values of our
history and cultures. For I am of the strong
conviction that whatever progress we make in our drive
to catch up with the rest of the world, that progress
would ultimately be hollow, and without much enduring
value, unless we can ensure that our children fully
understand what we are doing, and why we are doing it.

Our society believes that the individual exists in the
context of the family, the extended family, the
community and the wider society. Government should not
take over the roles of the family and the community,
should reinforce and strengthen them. It is the
extended family with the community that strengthens
the society, maintaining values and order, and a
culture of hardwork, honesty, integrity, loyalty,
thrift, obedience and respect for authorities and
elders, and regard for excellence, learning and
knowledge. Man is God's highest creation, and the
purpose of governance is to serve and help man in
reaching his full bloom and potential. Man has
obligations and duties to his fellow human beings, and
to the rest of God's creation.

Fellow Nigerian, I believe that many of you will share
my observation that beneath all the political crises,
beneath all the threats and challenges and upheavals
that we face, there is a deeper, more profound and
potentially more destructive debate going on in the
Nigeria today.

That debate is about wealth, who creates it, who
benefits from it, and by how much?

Unfortunately, the true force which propels our
endless political disputes, our constant struggles for
political advantage, is often not our burning concern
for democracy, it is often of our dedication to the
principle of the rule of law. It is often not about
fairness and equity and justice. We fight and
sometimes shed blood, to achieve and retain political
power, because for us in Nigeria, the political
kingdom has for too long been the gateway to the
economic kingdom, should this remain the case? I would
say emphatically No.!

However, we all know too well that our perverted sense
of prosperity derives from the fact that the
distribution of the nation's economic wealth is often
based, not on a rational or constructive link between
efforts and the yielded benefits, but on the whims of
those who control the reins of power.

The fiercest critics of our Administration are not
those who are unhappy about the slow pace of
development in the various sectors of the economy.
They are not those who feel that the delivery of
public goods, in education, health, housing,
transportation, employment generation and other social
necessities is below expectation. The real opponents
of our Government are those who previously enjoyed, or
who are currently enjoying, enormous and inordinate
economic and political power, and who now sense the
closing down of the avenues from which they have
hitherto amassed or are presently amassing ill-gotten
wealth.

This scenario is deleterious to our proverbial
national cake which symbolises the scope of our
natural wealth. For one, the unproductive manner of
sharing this national cake means that it is a
dwindling asset. Consequently we must begin to give
due consideration to the rate at which we replenish
our national assets, we must change our ways to ensure
we add value to our wealth consumption patterns.

Secondly, access to our national wealth through the
abuse of privilege and authority, is flagrantly
inequitable. As of now, the majority of Nigerians do
not have direct access to this national cake.
Frighteningly, of the minority that do have access,
twenty per cent of them are in control of about
fifty-six per cent of this wealth, whilst eighty
percent are compelled to share the inadequate
remainder of forty-four per cent. This imbalance
combines injustice, inequity and emasculation of our
economic prospects and social development.

From the beginning of the tenure of our
Administration, we made it clear that we would not
engage in business as usual. We said we intended to
divest the Federal Government of as many of its
parastatals and companies as possible. We said we
would sell them off to private investors, because they
are wasteful of our resources, and because private
investors are, in any event, better placed to run them
efficiently. We promised to put an end to corruption
in the system of contract awards, to do away with
excessive patronage, to install well known standards
of transparency and accountability in all transactions
of government. This we have done, are doing, and will
continue to do.

We recognise resistance from two categories of people.
The first continue to operate selfishly as a result of
entrenched habits. The second category consists of
those who insist on benefiting from the continuous
perversion of the system. But I believe that the major
economic responsibility of our Administration is not
to preside over the sharing of the meager wealth of
the country, but to work tirelessly to increase our
ability to produce and export more, so that there
would be more to share equitably and invest in our
social development.

After 42 years of independence, Nigeria still has the
distinction of being one of the few countries in the
world today that depends almost exclusively on one
single export commodity oil. Until recently, there was
a serious decline in production in virtually all other
sectors. But in the last three years we have focused
on the expansion of our economic base. I am pleased to
report that the yielded results include an increase in
our proven reserves from about 25 to almost 32 billion
barrels of oil.

We have also increased the oil production capacity
from about 2.4 million to about 3 million barrels per
day.

Government's encouragement of foreign capital inflow,
together with commitment to full funding of its own
obligations, has led to a steady rise in the number of
high profile projects going on simultaneously, such
that production capacity is expected to build up to 4
million barrels per day by 2005. The on-going field
developments, apart from attracting a flurry of
activities in terms of construction works and
provision of ancillary services, will also result in
improvement of government earnings by ever 50 per
cent.

In the Gas sector, the shift in policy from penalty to
promoting large volume export projects, is expected to
generate significant revenues for the country from
commercialization of associated gas.

With the past "Start-Stop" approach to Liquefied
Natural Gas (LNG) development in Nigeria, it took 30
years, by 1995, to reach final investment decision for
the first two trains of the Nigerian Liquidate Natural
Gas. However, since 1999, the liquified natural gas
has made outstanding progress. Among others, Train
Three is slated for completion by November 2002, while
Train Four and Five are now expected to be
commissioned by the third quarter of 2005. On
completion of Train Four and Five. LNG production is
expected to increase the pre 1999 programme of 5.8
million tens per annum by almost threefold.

Also there are other new LNG as well as Gas to Liquid
programmes that are currently on going Consequently by
2008, exportable LNG would have increased to over 25
million metric tons, amounting to revenue of more than
50 per cent of current earnings from crude.

We anticipate that by this period, Nigeria will not
only be a major player in the oil and gas sector, the
fiscal implication of this development will be
tantamount to doubling the nation's earnings from the
oil and gas industry.

Agriculture can feed the nation, as well as
drastically reduce our dependence on importation of
food. it can serve as a major source of export revenue
and raw materials for manufacturing. And it creates
jobs. For example, a single 10,000 hectare of oil palm
plantation, when fully operational, is capable of
employing more Nigerians than the entire civil service
of an average State in Nigeria.

We have intensified our efforts in the Solid Mineral
sector, and the most recent estimate indicate that in
eight years from now, income from the export of solid
minerals will compare favourably with the income we
are currently receiving from crude oil. Action has
actually commenced in respect of bitumen production,
with the allocation of blocks for exploitation.

Growth in the production capacity of the manufacturing
sector has been moving space, partly because of
improvements in the power delivery systems, and partly
also because of the current efforts to stabilize the
exchange rate of the Naira. In such industries as food
and beverages, production has risen as high as 95 per
cent utilisation of installed capacity, and we are
confident that other sectors will follow soon. Success
has been largely attributable to enhanced purchasing
power of Nigerians, regular supply of fuel, effective
communication especially GSM, and increased stability
in power supply.

The power supply programme is expected to lead to
generation, transmission and distribution of 10,000
megawatts by the end of 2005 definitely a far cry from
the meager 1500 megawatts which we met in 1999! We
have a programme by which we expect to become self
sufficient in the production of cement - within four
years, as well as in rice production - within three
years, in the same vein, successess are being pursued
in other areas, including agricultural production and
water supply education, healthcare delivery,
transportation, security, housing, rural
electrification and rural telephony. Our concern for
security goes beyond physical security for the
individual, for us it entails the totality of human
security, including food security, shelter, and the
provisions for leading a descent and fulfilled a life.

The annual inflation rate, which for some time hovered
around 18 per cent has now eased to around 11 per
cent. The gap between the official and parallel market
rate of exchange has virtually disappeared, and we are
hopeful that we will achieve a single exchange rate
regime for the Naira soon, while the rate of interest
will come down to such a level that will encourage
investment in the productive sector.

Our general aim has been to increase our ability to
produce and export more, both in the area of crude oil
and in such other areas as agriculture and
manufacturing. For if we do not produce more, if we do
not export, more, the proverbial national cake that we
all continue to haggle over will progressively
diminish both in size and value, if only for the
simple reason that our population is growing every
day, and there are increasing demands to cater for the
needs of all citizens.

The absolute pre-condition for economic prosperity in
our country must be peace and political stability. And
we can only enthrone political stability by vigorously
pursuing the twin objectives of social justice and
equal opportunity for all. To this end, I have
recently submitted to the National Assembly a Bill
that would put the stamp of law on the 13 per cent and
derivation principle, which must be the beginning of
our renewed efforts to correct the unfairness to the
Niger Delta region of Nigeria. it i s my fervent hope
that the National Assembly will quickly pas this Bill
into law.

foreign investors have expressed apprehension about
the Sharia judgment of stoning of women or men found
guilty of adultery. Our assurance to those who care to
listen is that we have a legal and judicial system
which grants any accused person the full opportunity
of appeal to the highest court in the land. For this
reason, we have never entertained doubts that whatever
verdict a lower court may give, the appellate courts
will ensure that justice is done. We fully understand
the concerns of Nigerians and friends of Nigeria, but
we cannot imagine or envision a Nigerian being stoned
to death. It has never happened. And may it never
happen.

But equity and social justice are not exclusively
matters for legislation. Ultimately, it is my belief
that the one way in which we can all quickly achieve
the country of our dreams is by each and all of us
internalising these edifying ideals and values, and
transforming them into active elements in our public
and private conduct.

For me, the Nigerian Project which I have committed
myself to, has only one item on its agenda. And that
agenda is one which embraces all Nigerians in all
walks of life, irrespective of their cultural
background, ethnic origin, religious beliefs or
political persuasions. The Nigerian Agenda that I have
in mind does not distinguish between or admit of a
separate Northern or Southern Agenda.

Our Nigerian Agenda is indivisible. It seeks to repair
the damage that diveness and selfish ambition have
done to us, and doing to us. It seeks to resolve the
sense of fulfilment of each citizen, no matter his
place of birth or social status. It seeks to revive
our traditional moral and ethical values, like
honesty, integrity, fairness, truth and respect for
the dignity of hard work, respect for the humanity of
the stranger in our midst, and respect for the right
of every citizen to hold views on any issue without
fear of victimisation.

Whatever is known to be bad deserves only to be seen
as bad. Whatever is bad for our nation cannot be good
for anyone: the individual, the family, the community
or the State. And corruption is simply bad for the
nation! To condone corruption is not unpatriotic, but
also irreligious for Christians and Moslems alike. No
excuse is good enough for condoning the evil of
corruption, be it on the basis of ethnicity religion,
sectional interest or on he offering of inducement in
order to wield undue influence and pervert the truth.
Corruption is an immoral and an unpardonable act
against society and punishable by God. The
wholesomeness of our society is the responsibility of
all of us. This Administration will not relent nor
leave any stone unturned in the war against the evil
of corruption in our society.

Fellow Nigerians, the truth of the matter is that in
the three and a half years since our government came
into office, all of us had to face a number of
fundamental changes, in the expectations we have of
public service, in our attitude to public funds and
public property in our perception of transparency and
accountability in governance. These changes were bound
to cause some anxiety among various sections of our
national community. We had no doubt that these changes
were bound to ruffle many feathers in many parts of
the country. Nevertheless, I have always held that
these changes are imperative for the necessary
sacrifice we all must make, for our vision of a new
Nigeria that is just stable, equitable, and
prosperous.

I am an uncompromising believer in the vision of
greater Nigeria!. I will exert myself to the utmost to
help realise it. I will be steadfast in my resolve.
And I will at all times strive to share this faith
with my fellow Nigerians, with as much humility,
conviction and compassion as God will grant me the
courage to have and expend.

Fellow Nigerian men and women, let me commend all
Nigerians who have come forward en masse to register
for the forthcoming elections. The beginning may not
have been exactly perfect, but with the massive
turnout, Nigerian voters have indicated their abiding
faith in democracy that is sufficient to be regarded
as a good launch of the electoral process. I am
confidence that INEC will continue to learn and
improve as they move on to tackle their monumental
task of ensuring that every Nigerian gets the chance
to exercise his or her democratic right to vote.

I would however like to remind all politicians
throughout this country of the amount of apprehension
that has been expressed, within and without, about the
possible risks which the forthcoming elections could
pose to our nascent democracy. The world regards
elections as a game of politicians, because
politicians are seen as having the highest stake in
losing or winning. Thus, the successful outcome of the
elections depends entirely on how politicians choose
to play the game. On the other hand, we should pray
and work hard to ensure that the electoral process
moves to a climax without tragedy. Democracy in
Nigeria is the ultimate winner in successful election.
On this solemn occasion of the last National Day
before the next elections, let us all resolve to play
the game so as to give victory to our democracy in
general. And if democracy is peaceably sustained, all
participants in the process are the winners in
particular.

The journey we all began together when Nigeria elected
me into office almost three and a half years ago,
would have been impossible to contemplate but for this
abiding faith that I have, that our country does
indeed have the potential of becoming a great nation.
It is this faith, this hope that I see in my travels
across this vast country of ours, and as I meet
Nigerians at home and abroad.

Fellow Nigerians, let me state that I desire nothing
more than God has already done for me, and for which I
will continually thank Him. God has showered His
blessing and bounty on me, taking me from a humble,
obscure beginning, through thick and thin to the
mountain top, and through the shadow of death at the
bottom of the valley, to where He has - by His Grace
placed me today.

Many are the people, Nigerians and non-Nigerians, dead
and alive, that God has used and is still using in the
course of my life journey. I thank them, as I think
God who has given me the job to do, with the
deliverance from the bondage of fear, and the
wherewithal to do it. If it is will of God and the
wish of Nigerians that we should continue from where
we have reached so far, we will so continue, for the
edification of our fatherland and for the honour and
glory of God.

My gut feelings and my faith tell me that until God
shuts a door, no human can shut it. And when he opens
a door, it remains open until he chooses to close it.
God controls, intervenes and overrules in the affairs
of nations and in the affairs of individuals. May
God's will continue to be done in the life of our
nation and in the life of each and everyone of us. For
the rest of life, wherever I may be and in whatever
condition, I will always seek to serve God, my country
and humanity. In the specific instance of serving
Nigeria, my dealings with Nigerians as their elected
leader will always be predicated on the best of my
ability, honest and truthfulness, so as to be
deserving of the trust and confidence repposed in me.

Fellow Nigerians, permit me to quote from my books. I
see Hoe' which will be launched today:

I see hope in the determination, resilience and the
indomitable spirit of Nigerians

I see hope in their resistance when they are pushed to
the wall.

I see hope, in their zeal, commitment and courage in
the face of adversity

I see hope in the boundless and incurable optimism of
our youth

I see hope, in the willingness of those Nigerians
(young and old) who resisted with all their strength
the evil which many past regimes represented.

I see hope, in the unwavering conduct and
uncompromising drive of Nigerians in demanding a
democratic culture in Nigeria.

I see hope, in the ingenuity and infinite creativity
of the Nigerian. I see hope, in the youth and the
young, for our tomorrow beings to them.

I see hope, in the great potentials that Nigerians
have, when they are empowered, motivated and well led.

I see hope, in the blending of the experience of the
old, with the energy and dynamism of the young.

I see hope in the vibrant spirit and richness of our
cultures. And I see hope in the commonality of our
humanity.'
That is why I believe. That is the basis of my hope
for this country. For if we lose hope, then we stand a
grave chance indeed of losing everything. We must
therefore keep hope alive, and continue to bear with
one another, as we move, all of us, to the great
future that beckons us. There lies our hope for
Nigeria. we are at the beginning of a new morning for
our nation. The future looks very bright indeed,
clearly, I see hope.

I have faith! Please have faith. Have hope. And show
love.

May God bless you all. And may God bless the Federal
Republic of Nigeria"