President Muhammadu Buhari, eight years after sweeping to office on a sea of promises, has looked back on his tenure with a sense of contentment and progress for the country under his watch.
On Sunday morning, in his final broadcast to the nation, the President admitted challenges to his administration and grieved for children in captivity and the loss of lives to insecurity, but his summary was clear.
“As I retire home to Daura, Katsina State, I feel fulfilled that we have started the Nigeria Re-Birth by taking the initial critical steps,” he said.
“I am confident that I am leaving office with Nigeria better in 2023 than in 2015.”
One of the areas in which the President is happy with his performance is the country’s electoral process.
Celebrating another peaceful transition of power from one elected government to another, he called for accountability.
“We must as a nation improve and sustain gains we make in the electoral process, on an incremental basis for Nigeria to take its rightful place among Nations,” he said.
“To ensure that our democracy remains resilient and our elected representatives remain accountable to the people, I am leaving behind an electoral process which guarantees that votes count, results are credible, elections are fair and transparent and the influence of money in politics reduced to the barest minimum. And Nigerians can elect leaders of their choice.”
The President had promised to tackle insecurity, fight corruption, and strengthen the Nigerian economy, promises critics have accused him of failing badly on.
In his broadcast, the President admitted that he started his tenure with a “great deal of promise and expectation” before moving to defend his performance and stating his conviction that “the in-coming administration will quicken the pace of this walk to see a Nigeria that fulfills its destiny to be a great nation.