In his last broadcast to the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari, on Sunday, thanked Nigerians for their prayers for him especially during his illness in his first term which forced him to take two sustained medical leaves within a year.
At the end of the traumatic experience, Buhari had, upon return to Nigeria, confessed that he head never been that sick in his life.
On Sunday, the President expressed profuse gratitude to Nigerians for their prayers even as he promised to continue to pray for the country as he bade his final bye as President.
“I am constantly praying for you and for Nigeria to thrive in peace,” Buhari said.
And as he begins his homeward journey to a well-deserved retirement, the President enthused that he feels highly fulfilled that he is leaving Nigeria better than he met it.
“As I retire home to Daura, Katsina State,” he declared, “I feel fulfilled that we have started the Nigeria Re-Birth by taking the initial critical steps and I am convinced the in-coming administration will quicken the pace of this walk to see a Nigeria that fulfils its destiny to be a great nation.
“ I am confident that I am leaving office with Nigeria better in 2023 than in 2015.”
Buhari highlighted his accomplishments in office fingering the sustenance of strong democratic culture in Nigeria with elected officials remaining resilient and 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,” President Buhari declared. “And Nigerians can elect leaders of their choice.
“We are already seeing the outcome of this process as it provided an even playing field where persons without any political God-Father or access to money defeated other well-resourced candidates.”
On the economy, the President said it had become more resilient under his watch due to the various strategies that his administration put in place to make it withstands the various storms that blew against world at some critical points in recent history, including the global economic downturn engendered by COVID-19.
“You would all recall the supply chain disruptions and economic downturn that the world witnessed between 2020 and 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Buhari said. “The deftness of our response to the pandemic still remains a global best practice.”
He congratulated the incoming President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who takes office tomorrow, Monday, May 29, 2023, commending his resilience and burning passion to put Nigeria amongst the leading nations of the world.
“You have indeed worked for this day and God has crowned your efforts,” he rejoiced with Tinubu. “I have no doubt that your passion for excellence, reliance on competence, fairness in relationships, commitment to equity, loyalty to the country and desire for Nigeria to be globally relevant would come through for you, under God’s guidance, as you lead our country to levels higher that I am leaving.
“You are the best candidate among all the contestants and Nigerians have chosen well.”
