…He says that I hope to retire in peace
President Maj-Gen Muhammadu Buhari (ret.) said Monday in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state, that God thwarted “deliberate attempts to destroy Nigeria.”
Buhari also said that the country had “recovered” from its difficult days and thanked the members of the Armed Forces and the police for their sacrifices to protect the country.
“There was a deliberate attempt to destroy Nigeria, but God did not allow it,” Buhari said at the palace of Damaturu emir Hashimi II El-Kanemi.
This is according to a statement signed by the Special Advisor to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, titled, ‘With victory over terrorists, we must develop strong confidence in our country, says President Buhari’.
Expressing his joy at the return of normalcy in Yobe State and North-East Nigeria, the President thanked Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni and his Borno State counterpart Professor Babagana Zulum for their persistence in reconstruction of schools, health centers and institutions destroyed by the misguided terrorists.
He noted that “there was a deliberate attempt to destroy Nigeria, but God did not allow it”, adding that “God has helped Nigeria to recover”.
The president recounted that having fought to defend the unity of Nigeria during the Civil War, those who were part of that experience would never “allow anyone to play games with this country again.”
The president also urged Nigerians to develop strong confidence in the country, its security institutions and never allow any terrorist group to destabilize Nigeria again.
In his remaining four months in office, Buhari vowed to continue to protect the right to education for all Nigerian children, particularly children displaced from their homes by Boko Haram.
”With the four months I have left as president, I will remain firm and I hope to retire in peace.
”We must develop strong confidence in our country. Let’s make sure we don’t compromise safety in any way because safety and economy are the most important things.
“We’ve been through a lot as a country, and I’m asking you to stand firm and make sure that we won’t let anyone mess us up again,” he said.
Governor Buni told the President that in the heat of the battle against the insurgency, the Emir’s Palace in Damaturu was invaded by terrorists.
”’Before, in this Palace, even if you put down a billion dollars for someone to come and pick it up, no one dared to come near it. But its incorporation has made history and the people of Yobe enjoy relative peace,” Buni said.
The emir also thanked the president for improving security in the country, saying “we have had bitter experiences in the past, but your administration has unified the country.”
After the courtesy call at the Emir’s palace, Buhari proceeded to present various projects carried out by the state government and the leadership of the Nigerian Police.
They include the ultra-modern State Command Headquarters, the Police Tertiary Hospital and access roads, and the Police Secondary School, conceptualized and completed under Police Inspector General Usman Baba.
He also inaugurated the ultra-modern Damaturu Market, the Maternal and Child Health Complex at Yobe State Teaching Hospital, the 2,600-unit housing estate in Potiskum and the Damaturu Mega-School in new Bra-Bra, executed by Governor Buni.
Before and immediately after his arrival from Yola, Adamawa State, the president inaugurated the Yobe International Cargo Airport, which bears his name.
