I, like many others, have
witnessed first-hand the progress of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari.
He is fighting corruption, tackling insecurity, and investing in vital infrastructure
like no other President in the history of Nigeria. That is why for the past few
months, I have been proud to support Together Nigeria, an advocacy group for
the re-election of President Buhari.
We gathered last week to launchTogether
Nigeria at State House, with the support of Her Excellency, Dr. Mrs. Aisha
Muhammadu Buhari, wife of the President of Nigeria. We were thrilled to
welcomeformer Nigerian football stars, Daniel Amokachi, Peter Rufai, Garba
Lawal, as well assome Nollywood royalty, including Chinedu Ikedieze (a.k.a Aki),JideKosoko,
Oga Bello, and artists Olu Maintain,Korede Bello, JideKosoko, Iyanya, Joke
Silva and DJ JimmyJatt and many, many more.
These celebrities, like millions
of others, have declared their support for President Buhari’s re-election and
Together Nigeria, because they areimmensely proud of the work that he has done
since 2015, and they want to see this continue.
In his speech, the Nollywood
Filmmaker Desmond Elliot said “Mr President has started the good work, Mr
President will end it well.” Olu Maintain went further in his passioned speech,
saying President Buhari is “incorruptible”. “Corruption is a plague that has
infected this country for decades. This is the one man that has taken up the
mantle that corruption in this country has to stop. This man has made it his
overall principle to fight this, he has fought this effectively for his first
term, let us give him the mantle to now rebuild this economy in his second
term”.
When President Buhari came to
office in 2015, the various Ministries, Departments and agencies of the
Nigerian Government had over 17,000 accounts in commercial banks across the
country. The level of waste in charges and fees, and scope for corruption and
abuse, was breath-taking. President Buhari responded with the full implementation
of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system, a unified banking arrangement to
consolidate and manage government cash resources.
Not only has this saved some N4
billion monthly in banking charges associated with indiscriminate borrowing,
but for the first time, it gives the Ministry of Finance complete overview of
cash flows across the entire Government. And this has ran alongside President
Buhari’s pioneering Whistle Blowing Policy, which has recovered N7.8 billion
and undertaken 791 investigations into corruption.
President Buharihas also made
great stridestowards restoring economic growth in Nigeria and building a
globally competitive economy, having succeeded in securing Nigeria’s place as
one of the World Bank’s top 10 most improved economies in the world for ease of
doing business in 2017, moving up 24 places in its ranking during the year.
And these economic gains have
been invested in improving the lives of all Nigerians.The Buhari administration
has dedicated a significant proportion of the budgetto the provision of basic
infrastructure and capital projects. This has benefited Nigerians in all parts
of our country. Funds have supported the construction of roads in each of the
six Geopolitical Zones, from the Kaduna Eastern Bypass in the North West, to
the rehabilitation of Enugu-Port Harcourt Road Section III in the South East.
But President Buhari’s
achievements extend beyond the economy. The Buhari administration’s Social
Investment Programme is the largest and most ambitious in Nigeria’s history. It
has fed over nine million primary school pupils and paid out over N66 billion
to states participating in the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.
At our launch event, President
Buhari commended the hard work of the volunteers, and gave thanks for the
support he has received during his re-election campaign. And the President is
right, thanks to the hard work of teeming and passionate supporters we will
continue toeducate the world about the good work of Nigeria’s federal
government and the achievements of President Buhari.
Over the past three and a half
years, we have come a long way in realising the potential of our rich nation,
but I do not deny there remains more to be done.
The global collapse in oil prices
a year before President Buhari took office in 2015 had a severe impact, and
many Nigerians still feel they have less money in their pockets – to invest in
crops, to send their children to school, and to put food on their plates. We
must do more to help bring all Nigerians with us on a journey to prosperity, to
change the situation in our country for the better.
In the months ahead we must
secure the future, our future, by voting President Muhammadu Buhari, a man who
can truly bring Nigeria together and continue the journey he has started
towards a safe, fair, and prosperous Nigeria.
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa is the First Ambassador
of Together Nigeria, and Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari
on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora.
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