Know the facts before passing judgment – Buhari to Akufo-Addo et al.

General news for Thursday, October 22, 2020

Source: 3 News

2020-10-22

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the international community, especially those who have shared concerns about the protests in Nigeria, to know the facts before passing trials.

Several days of protests to achieve the dissolution of the Special Anti-Theft Squad (Sars) unit of the Nigerian police have degenerated into violence and shootings at peaceful protesters.

This has seen the international community, including the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), calling for calm and restraint on the part of protesters and police.

Addressing the nation on Thursday, October 22, President Buhari expressed his gratitude to the international community, but urged that making hasty pronouncements may not be fair when not all the available facts have been analyzed.

“To our neighbors in particular, and to members of the international community, many of whom have expressed concern about the ongoing development in Nigeria, we thank and urge everyone to seek to know all the available facts before taking a position. or rush to pass judgment. and make hasty pronouncements. “

Find your full address below:

SPEECH TO THE NATION OF HIS EXCELLENCE MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON THE PROTESTS OF ENDSARS

OCTOBER 22, 2020

Nigerian colleagues,

It became necessary for me to address you, having listened to many concerned Nigerians and having concluded a meeting with all the security chiefs.

I must warn those who have kidnapped and deflected the initial, genuine and well-intentioned protest by some of our youth in parts of the country, against the excesses of some members of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Theft Squad (SARS).

On Monday, October 12, I acknowledged the genuine concerns and agitations of members of the public regarding the excessive use of force by some members of SARS.

The option to demonstrate peacefully is a fundamental right of citizens enshrined in Section 40 of our Constitution and other laws; But this right to protest also imposes on protesters the responsibility to respect the rights of other citizens and the need to act within the law.

As a democratic government, we carefully listen and evaluate the protesters’ five-point demands. And, having accepted them, we immediately eliminated SARS and put measures in place to address the other demands of our youth. By approving the termination of SARS, I already made clear that it was in line with our commitment to implement comprehensive policing reforms. Unfortunately, the speed with which we have acted seems to have been misinterpreted as a sign of weakness and twisted by some for their selfish and unpatriotic interests.

The result of this is clear to all observers: human lives have been lost; acts of sexual violence have been reported; two important penitentiaries were attacked and the prisoners released; public and private property completely destroyed or vandalized; the sanctity of the Palace of a Peacemaker, the Oba of Lagos, has been violated. The alleged protesters invaded an international airport and in the process disrupted the travel plans of our fellow Nigerians and our visitors.

All of these executed in the name of the ENDSARS protests. In fact, it hurts me deeply that innocent lives have been lost. These tragedies are unjustified and unnecessary. Certainly, there is no way to link these bad acts with the legitimate expression of the grievance of the youth of our country.

The spread of deliberate falsehood and misinformation through social media in particular, that this government is oblivious to the pain and plight of its citizens is a ploy to mislead the unwary inside and outside of Nigeria into unfair trials and behaviors disruptive.

On the contrary, both our actions and our words have shown how committed this administration has been to the well-being and well-being of citizens, even with the ever-diminishing revenues and additional responsibilities and restrictions due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The government has launched measures and initiatives aimed primarily at youth, women and the most vulnerable groups in our society. These included our comprehensive plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years; the creation of the National Youth Investment Fund of 75,000 million naira to provide opportunities for young people and the Survival Fund for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MIPYME), through which the government:

pay the three-month salaries of the staff of 100,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises,

pay the registration of 250,000 companies in the Corporate Affairs Commission, awarding a grant of 30,000 naira to 100,000 artisans; and guaranteeing a market for merchants’ products.

These are added to many other initiatives such as;

Farmermoni,

Tradermoni,

Marketmoni,

N-Power,

N-Tech and N-Agro.

No Nigerian government in the past has addressed poverty alleviation methodically and seriously as we have.

With regard to the welfare of police personnel, the National Commission on Wages, Income and Wages has been tasked with expediting action to finalize the new salary structure for members of the Nigerian Police. The emoluments of other paramilitary services are also being revised upwards.

In order to underscore the importance of education in preparing youth for the future, this administration has created a new salary structure and other incentives for our teachers. At this point, let me reaffirm the commitment of the Federal Government to preserve the unity of this country.

We will continue to improve good governance and our democratic process, including through sustained engagement.

We will continue to guarantee the protection of liberty and liberty, as well as the fundamental rights of all citizens.

But remember that the government also has an obligation to protect lives and property, as well as the right of citizens to carry out their daily activities freely and protected from acts of violence.

To our neighbors in particular, and to members of the international community, many of whom have expressed concern about the ongoing development in Nigeria, we thank and urge everyone to seek to know all the available facts before taking a position or rushing to pass judgment and making hasty pronouncements.

Given the circumstances, I would like to call on protesters to take note and take advantage of the various well thought out initiatives of this administration designed to make their lives better and more meaningful, and to resist the temptation to be used by some subversive elements to Cause the chaos with the aim of truncating our nascent democracy.

To do otherwise will amount to undermining national security and the situation of law and order. This will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Therefore, I call on our youth to suspend street protests and constructively engage the government in the search for solutions. His voice has been heard loud and clear and we are responding.

And I call on all Nigerians to carry on with their normal activities and order law enforcement agencies to protect the lives and property of all law-abiding citizens without harming those they are supposed to protect. Allow me to pay tribute to the officers of the Nigerian Police Force who have tragically lost their lives in the line of duty.

I would like to thank the state governors, traditional and religious leaders who have called for calm and restraint. I also thank the youth leaders who have prevented their followers from taking the law into their own hands. This government respects and will continue to respect all democratic rights and civil liberties of the people, but will not allow anyone or groups to disturb the peace of our nation.

Thank you all. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.