President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Nigerians to walk on the path of duty if they really want to see the country achieve new heights.
The president made the call at a farewell
meeting with his media support group, the Buhari Media Organization (BMO), on
Thursday in Abuja.
The president showered praises on the members
of the BMO for volunteering their time and energy throughout the eight years of
his administration "without salary, letter of appointment or any formal
rewards." Buhari described their sacrifices as "very
un-Nigerian."
By this, the president said the BMO had given
him inspiration and hope for a better Nigeria in the future.
"I am so happy for all that you have
done to support my administration. I don't have enough words to thank you
individually and collectively.
"I occasionally read your outbursts and
often wondered what type of Nigerians are these. The sacrifices you have made
for our success are beyond measure,” he said.
The president likened the sacrifices of the
BMO members to those of the past leaders, citing in particular, retired
Generals Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo and himself.
Buhari recalled that in the period of the
civil war, he walked the way on his two feet from Makurdi in today's Benue to
the shorelines of the sea.
He also recalled how elated he felt when his
immediate predecessor, President Goodluck Jonathan, "called me at 5:25
that evening to say congratulations. I said pardon me, Mr President?
"He said yes, I called to concede and
congratulate you. That was equally very un-Nigerian."
The president described Nigeria as being a
lucky country given the natural resources available to it and its vast
population, saying:
"We don't even know how much resources
we have. A major part of Africa's natural resources are domiciled in this
country."
He spoke of these endowments, making
comparisons with countries he had been to on military training.
Buhari cited a particular one where people
who died of hunger overnight were cleared off the streets by refuse collectors
and, in his words, "People just moved on with their daily lives even in
the face of these cultural shocks."
The chairman and coordinator of the BMO, Niyi
Akinsiju, in a speech, said, "As your administration ends on May 29, 2023,
we wish to state unequivocally that you have made the country proud and posterity
will judge you favourably."
The senior special assistant to the president
on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, informed him that the group was the same
media committee that worked for him in the 2015 elections.
On behalf of the group, the presidential
spokesman thanked the president for the opportunity he gave them to serve
during the period of his eight-year leadership of the country.
He noted that throughout this period, the BMO
sustained itself through voluntary assistance from non-governmental
organisations.
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