President Buhari addresses Nigerians (Full Statement)

ADDRESS TO THE NATION BY HIS

EXCELLENCY, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON THE ENDSARS PROTESTS, 22ND OCTOBER, 2020.

Fellow Nigerians,

It has become necessary for me to address you having heard from many concerned Nigerians and having concluded a meeting with all the Security Chiefs.

2. I must warn those who have hijacked and

misdirected the initial, genuine and well - intended protest of some of our youths in parts of the country, against the excesses of some members of the now disbanded Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS).

3. On Monday 12th October, I acknowledged

the genuine concerns and agitations of

members of the public regarding the excessive

use of force by some members of SARS.

4. The choice to demonstrate peacefully is a

fundamental right of citizens as enshrined in

Section 40 of our Constitution and other

enactments; but this right to protest also

imposes on the demonstrators the

responsibility to respect the rights of other

citizens, and the necessity to operate within the

law.

5. As a democratic government, we listened to,

and carefully evaluated the five-point demands

of the protesters. And, having accepted them,

we immediately scrapped SARS, and put

measures in place to address the other

demands of our youth.

6. On approving the termination of SARS, I

already made it clear that it was in line with our

commitment to the implementation of extensive

Police reforms.

7. Sadly, the promptness with which we have

acted seemed to have been misconstrued as a

sign of weakness and twisted by some for their

selfish unpatriotic interests.

8. The result of this is clear to all observers:

human lives have been lost; acts of sexual

violence have been reported; two major

correctional facilities were attacked and

convicts freed; public and private properties

completely destroyed or vandalised; the sanctity

of the Palace of a Peace Maker, the Oba of

Lagos has been violated. So-called protesters

have invaded an International Airport and in the

process disrupted the travel plans of fellow

Nigerians and our visitors.

9. All these executed in the name of the

ENDSARS protests. I am indeed deeply pained

that innocent lives have been lost. These

tragedies are uncalled for and unnecessary.

Certainly, there is no way whatsoever to

connect these bad acts to legitimate expression

of grievance of the youth of our country.

10. The spreading of deliberate falsehood and

misinformation through the social media in

particular, that this government is oblivious to

the pains and plight of its citizens is a ploy to

mislead the unwary within and outside Nigeria

into unfair judgement and disruptive behaviour.

11. On the contrary, both our deeds and words

have shown how committed this administration

has been to the wellbeing and welfare of

citizens, even with the steadily dwindling

revenues, and the added responsibilities and

restrictions due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

12. Government has put in place measures and

initiatives principally targeted at youths, women

and the most vulnerable groups in our society.

These included our broad plan to lift 100 million

Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years;

the creation of N75 billion National Youth

Investment Fund to provide opportunities for

the youths and the Micro, Small and Medium

Enterprises (MSME) Survival Fund, through

which government is:

a. paying three months salaries of the staff of

100,000 micro, small - and medium -

enterprises,

b. paying for the registration of 250,000

businesses at the Corporate Affairs

Commission,

c. giving a grant of N30,000 to 100,000

artisans; and

d. guaranteeing market for the products of

traders.

13. These are in addition to many other

initiatives such as;

a. Farmermoni,

b. Tradermoni,

c. Marketmoni,

d. N-Power,

e. N-Tech and

f. N-Agro.

14. No Nigerian Government in the past has

methodically and seriously approached poverty-

alleviation like we have done.

15. With regard to the welfare of police

personnel, the National Salaries, Income and

Wages Commission has been directed to

expedite action on the finalization of the new

salary structure of members of the Nigeria

Police Force. The emoluments of other

paramilitary services are also being reviewed

upwards.

16. In order to underscore the importance of

education in preparing youths for the future, this

administration has come up with a new salary

structure and other incentives for our teachers.

17. Let me at this point reaffirm the Federal

Government’s commitment to preserving the

unity of this country.

18. We will continue to improve good

governance and our democratic process,

including through sustained engagement.

19. We shall continue to ensure that liberty and

freedom, as well as the fundamental rights of all

citizens are protected.

20. But remember that government also has the

obligation to protect lives and properties, as well

as the right of citizens to go about their daily

businesses freely and protected from acts of

violence.

21. To our neighbours in particular, and

members of the international community, many

of whom have expressed concern about the

ongoing development in Nigeria, we thank you

and urge you all to seek to know all the facts

available before taking a position or rushing to

judgment and making hasty pronouncements.

22. In the circumstances, I would like to appeal

to protesters to note and take advantage of the

various well-thought-out initiatives of this

administration designed to make their lives

better and more meaningful, and resist the

temptation of being used by some subversive

elements to cause chaos with the aim of

truncating our nascent democracy.

23. For you to do otherwise will amount to

undermining national security and the law and

order situation. Under no circumstances will

this be tolerated.

24. I therefore call on our youths to discontinue

the street protests and constructively engage

government in finding solutions. Your voice has

been heard loud and clear and we are

responding.

25. And I call on all Nigerians to go about their

normal businesses, and enjoin security

agencies to protect lives and properties of all

law abiding citizens without doing harm to

those they are meant to protect. Let me pay

tribute to officers of the Nigeria Police Force

who have tragically lost their lives in the line of

duty.

26. I would like to thank those state Governors,

traditional and religious leaders who have

appealed for calm and restraint. I also thank

youth leaders who have restrained their

followers from taking the law into their hands.

27. This government respects and will continue to respect all the democratic rights and civil liberties of the people, but it will not allow

anybody or groups to disrupt the peace of our nation.

Thank you all. God bless the Federal Republic of

Nigeria.