Triumph of Democracy

Being the 2nd term inaugural speech By His Excellency, Alhaji (Dr.) Abdullahi Adamu, Sarkin Yakin Keffi, Executive Governor of Nasarawa State. Lafia, May 29, 2003.

Four years ago, when I took my oath of office as the first executive governor of this state, our country had just emerged from almost fifteen years of uninterrupted military rule and joined the democratic club world-wide. Four years ago, Nigerians took the irrevocable decision to enthrone democracy and be ruled by the leaders of their choice at the three tiers of government. On that day, we stood on the threshold of a new beginning promised by democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. Today, unfettered by the ill-wishes of those who wish us ill, democracy marches on in our dear country with its feet getting firmer and steadier with the increasing confidence of all Nigerians in its ethos. Our vote for democracy was, and remains, an irreversible choice by Nigerians for Nigeria. Nigerians, una do well.

We are gathered here this morning to celebrate the end of the first four years of democracy and ceremonially welcome the beginning of a new term. The journey to this day was sometimes rough, tough and even frustrating. But we soldiered on in the firm belief in democracy as the best form of government devised by man. We have arrived, not at the fork in the road to nationhood but on the highway towards our dreams as a people and as a nation. Let us pause and give thanks to the almighty God for this day and for this occasion. In His wisdom He made this day and this occasion possible. Despite the teething problems of nursing and nurturing democracy, we have every reason to believe that we have overcome. A brighter future shines on the horizon for our country. With God's blessing, we are forging one united nation on the anvil of our collective sweat; it is a nation tempered in the crucibles of our collective determination. This is the triumph of democracy.

The government and people of Nasarawa State, join millions of our dear compatriots throughout the length and breadth of this great country in celebrating this occasion that marks a giant step for our nation and its democracy. Our country is coasting towards the future as a united, democratic, prosperous nation. We predict that Nigeria is in the process of taking up the mantle of African leadership, which slipped out of its hands in the years of political uncertainty and dictatorship. Our country will always be the pride of the black race and a beacon to the struggling peoples of the developing world.

The 2003 general elections are over throughout the country. Their successful conduct is a credit to all Nigerians. We have forced the doomsayers to eat their words. The current protests over the results by those who lost are normal and do not in any way invalidate our right to be proud of the conduct of the polls. The losers are only being human. Democracy gives the people the legal right and the freedom to choose their leaders from among candidates of the various political parties. It is the culture of democracy that those who willingly submit themselves to the people's choice respect the choice of the people. If the people's choice is not respected, the will of the people is subverted and democracy is the loser. In a democracy, the people's will freely expressed through the ballot box cannot be subordinated to individual interest. That path leads to dictatorship; to which we say perish the thought.

We join well-meaning Nigerians and say to the disaffected politicians: please seek redress only through the legal channels open to you. Neither the cause of democracy nor of patriotism will be served by personal grievances expressed in the manner of the dog in the manger. True patriots are known by their willingness to let their love for their fatherland dwarf their vaunting ambition for leadership. These are honourable men. Let their pronouncements be honourable. Let the means to the end they seek be honourable and edifying.

We welcome your Excellencies, my lords, temporal and spiritual, your royal highnesses, elected honourable members of the national and state assemblies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen to this historic inaugural ceremony. A few minutes ago, my deputy and I took our oath of office as governor and deputy governor respectively of our beloved state, Nasarawa. Our administration has been born again by the will of the people of Nasarawa State. We give special thanks to all the good people of this state who freely and overwhelmingly renewed our mandate for a second four-year term in office. We receive our renewed mandate with sincere gratitude. It fills us with a sense of pride and humility. But our victory at the polls is also your victory. Your unequivocal support for us and our party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, gives us the courage to face the challenges ahead. We acknowledge your support for all our policies and programmes in the past four years. That support makes the burden we bear lighter. And your understanding gives us the push towards the Promised Land. Working together and supporting one another, we will, insha Allah, reach that land sooner than later. We pledge our continued selfless service to you and the state.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, his vice-president and thirty-five other governors have similarly taken their oath of office today. If you would permit a hackneyed expression, this is a new day in our country. Once again, a new dawn has dawned on our country. Once again, we stand at that delicate moment when a country pauses on its long trek to nationhood and recharges its energy and renews itself for the greater challenges ahead. Let us not be unmindful of the magic of the moment.

We sincerely congratulate Chief Obasanjo who begins his second term in office today. We congratulate our brother governors of the other 35 states. We welcome, in particular into our fold, the eight new governors who were elected into their first term in office. To the president and the re-elected governors, we say happy survival.

This is a defining moment in the political history of Chief Obasanjo. When he assumed his exalted office as our president four years ago, he was regarded largely as a political orphan who did not enjoy the support of his own people and lacked a political base and, therefore, held office at the behest of political godfathers. He has proved that he is an astute and calculating statesman rather than a politician. Today he has achieved a political feat that eluded some of the great names in Nigerian politics. He has brought the south-west geo-political zone into the mainstream of Nigerian politics and established a formidable political base which can no longer be ignored. For the first time in our political history, the Yoruba have abandoned their traditional opposition and joined the rest of the country in one happy political party family. Not even Napoleon could have done this. The president is a large-hearted politician and a true statesman in the strictest sense of that over-used word. Fate has managed to thrust on him heavy burdens at critical times in our political history. He has always obeyed the nation's call and done his unenviable duty to God and his country to the envy of lesser men. The 2003 elections must be the icing on his political cake. We salute Mr. President.

We salute the people of the North-Central zone for once again delivering the zone in its entirety to the PDP in the last elections. It is not for nothing that this zone is better known as the Middle-Belt. This belt holds the country together. The leaders and people of this zone have never refused to give of their best to this country. Men of timbre and calibre from this zone have headed the biggest political party in Africa, our beloved party, the PDP, in succession because the good people of this zone have earned the confidence of the rest of the country. We assure fellow Nigerians that this zone will remain the zone that is eternally central to Nigerian unity and the belt with which the nation girds its loins.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it would not be immodest to say that we have carved a niche for Nasarawa State in the politics of this country. At critical periods in our recent political history, this state and its people stood shoulder to shoulder with the forces of national unity. Indeed, our principled stand on the attempted impeachment of the president and the ill-conceived attempts to prevent him from exercising his right to offer himself for re-election helped to pull this country back from the brink. We acknowledge, with gratitude, the backing of the overwhelming majority of our people for the role we played in these matters. We will continue to play a central role in the politics of Nigeria. We will never submit to the forces of disunity. And we will not hold the candle to anyone or a group of persons in matters of our national unity and progress.

But permit us to observe that today the new political leaders of the north face critical challenges in the politics of Nigeria. Owing to recent mistakes and political miscalculations, the region is fast losing its commanding role as the power broker in the country. We must restore the political integrity of the north otherwise the region faces the bleak prospects of becoming irrelevant in our national affairs. We cannot afford to see the north consigned to the back burner of Nigerian politics. Anything that denies the north its place as a power broker in our nation is unacceptable. The time has come for the old and the new and the aspiring leaders of the north to admit their mistakes and miscalculations and forgive themselves. We must re-assert ourselves and rescue the region from being thrown into the political dust bin.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the oath of office we took this morning was not a democratic ritual but the renewal of the bond forged four years ago between our people and us. As leaders of our people at all levels, we must never forget the saying that to whom much is given, much is also expected. We have received much from the people and we must give back much more to them. The expectations of our people for an instant transformation in their lives and circumstances through the magic of the democratic process remain very high. Let us resolve not to disappoint them. Let our oath of office today be a constant reminder to all of us of our individual and collective commitment to the Nigerian project at all levels. To move our nation forward is the task that our people have imposed on us by giving us the mandate to serve them. It is a task from which we cannot run away. The fate of democracy in our country is in our hands. We must go beyond the call of duty, if need be, to protect and defend it and when our time is up and our duty is done, we should be proud to hand over to future generations a robust democracy without stain.

The end of the elections must also mark the end of crass partisan politics in Nasarawa State. We are in different political parties but we remain members of one great family as indigenes of Nasarawa State. Politics must now give right of way to good governance and the welfare of the people. Those who lost at the polls should not, and must not, allow their loss to affect their willingness to serve the people. Winning an election is not a condition for serving the people; therefore, losing an election cannot abrogate anyone's right to serve them. Losers and winners must now join hands in the service of the people. We urge those who lost at the polls to join us as we embark on the consolidation of the gains of the last four years in our state. As we pointed out in a special broadcast after the elections three weeks ago, there is room on the deck for all citizens of this state to contribute their quota to the development of the state. Let us put our hands on the deck for a greater Nasarawa State.

At the beginning of our first term four years ago, we acknowledged the yearnings of our people for the basic social amenities of modern life such as potable water, electricity, health and educational facilities as well as roads, which had been denied to virtually all communities in the state. The yearnings were the primary reasons why we sought the mandate of the people to serve them in this exalted position. We promised to tackle these problems as part of a comprehensive development package of the state. We pledged to give a good account of our mandate to the people. At every point during our first term, we kept the people fully informed of our progress in our development programme. This is not the occasion for reeling out our achievements. However, this ceremony is evidence that the people renewed our mandate based entirely on our record.

It is not immodest to say that we have kept our promises to the people. We have made tremendous progress throughout the state. Our people-oriented programmes have taken development closer to the people, especially where it matters most – the grassroots. In most parts of the state today, people are enjoying the basic social amenities. Where there was darkness, there is now light courtesy of our rural electrification programme. Water borne diseases are losing the battle against our people because our water supply programme has freed many communities from their helpless dependence on unwholesome sources of water supply. Our light of rapid educational development has put the darkness of ignorance to flight. It bears repeating to say that Nasarawa State University, Keffi, is the jewel in the crown of our educational development. Those who argued that the state did not need a university of its own roundly condemned us. Our decision to set up a university was not taken on the spur of the moment. It was carefully thought out and fully supported by expert studies on our needs. We offer no apology whatever for our decision to set up the state university. A university is a citadel of learning and as such it has always played a central role in the development of societies. For us to move our state forward, we need indigenous manpower at all levels. The university is the best institution for the training of this manpower for the state. In any case, the giant strides we have made in secondary school education would mean nothing if the products of these schools cannot find opportunities to further their education. Our decision is right. Our foot is on the right path.

Our health care delivery system is a source of pride to the government and the people of the state. Our twin-pronged preventive and curative health programme is the bulwark against common ailments and diseases. Health delivery system is within the reach of almost every community in the state today.

We have made no secrets that we subscribe to the Roman saying that civilisation follows the road. But our objective in road construction is more modest. In our own idiom, social and commercial interaction follows the opening up of inter and intra-community roads. We have delivered on our promise here. Foot paths have given way to modern inter-community roads throughout the state. Ladies and gentlemen, this state is truly on the move.

We believe that the local administration system is most suited for a state like ours because the closer the government is to the people, the more it impacts on their lives. Consistent with this belief, we took steps to strengthen the local government system in the state. We created new districts and sixteen new local government areas. Today we have 29 local government areas. We note, with satisfaction, that the people are happy with these steps taken by the government. We note also that there is still some agitation for the creation of more local government areas. We have examined some of these petitions and come to the conclusion that there are, indeed, deserving cases that cannot be ignored. We will not ignore them. We refer in particular to Agyarargu-Tofa, Agyaragu-Tasha and Kayarda area; Barkin-Abdullahi area; Arkiya and Adoki area as well as Umuaisha areas. These areas are being considered for new local government areas. As soon as the state assembly is convened and settles down, we will set in motion the constitutional machinery for the creation of these additional local government areas.

This administration prides itself on measured responses to the yearnings of the people. In our first term in office, we listened to the people's yearning for new chiefdoms. As you are aware, we created new chiefdoms and upgraded existing traditional institutions throughout the state. We have also found that we inadvertently neglected some deserving cases. We promise to take necessary steps as soon as possible to grant the wishes of the ethnic groups that deserve new chiefdoms.

It is worth recalling that when we took over four years ago, we inherited a depressed state and people in mild stages of despair. Morale in the civil service was comprehensively low. That picture has vastly changed. Today, we see the radiant faces of people filled with hope in the present and the future of the state and its people. Despair has given way to determination by the people to be the architects of the development of our state. We could not have come this far in so short a time without the full co-operation of everyone in the state. The dream of this administration has become the dream of the people. Its aspiration is the aspiration of the people. Our royal fathers, politicians, students, civil servants, farmers and traders have not denied the state their quota to its upliftment. Once again, we say a big thank you to all of you.

My dear people of Nasarawa State, this administration did not set out to do no more than the routine business of government. We set out to build a truly great and transformed Nasarawa State. We set out to make our state an example to the rest of the country. We set out to free our people from the clutches of ignorance and rescue the state from its despairing depth of neglect. These were, obviously, tall ambitions for a poor, rural state. But we knew back then as we do know today, that leaders who feared to go where angels feared to tread did not build great nations or communities in the history of mankind. We have dared to dream and we have dared to make our dream a reality. We have laid the foundation of that state of our collective dreams. We must now build on that foundation so that at the end of the day all of us who are privileged to serve our people at this point in the history of our country can look back and say that we won the race against poverty, ignorance, disease and under-development.

The race is on because there are still great challenges ahead of us. It is not time to rest on our oars because it is still a long way from land and the sea of political intolerance and ethnic differences is still choppy. Even as we make enviable progress in the state, some elements in our midst continue to fuel ethnic crises in some parts of the state. The evil objective of these apostles of violence is to halt our progress and portray our state as ungovernable. These same elements also use misguided youths to sabotage our development and social projects. In the recent past, they attacked rural electrification and water projects. So far, they have failed to realise their unholy ambition because all of us say no to them. But let no one think they have given up. We urge all of you to remain vigilant. It is the price we must be willing to pay for peace in our state. It bears repeating: there can be no progress without peace. In the immortal words of that great American, the late Dr. Martin Luther King, we say to you: From the hills of the northern senatorial zone to the flat lands of the southern senatorial zone, let peace reign. From the rolling farmlands of the eastern part of the state to the semi-savannah region of the western part, let peace reign.

We must continue to reject the forces of disunity. We must wield the unity of the state with the electrode of our love. We must replace mutual suspicion with mutual trust. We must make our differences in tribes and tongues the link in the chain of our collective destiny and not the source of ethnic crises. The rainbow collection of tribes in our state is a not a divine mistake. It is for a noble divine purpose. Our state must be a beautiful reflection of the divine colours of the rainbow, not the unsightly sight of self-destruction.

Today we begin the journey into our second term, with renewed hope and invigorated sense of public service. Moving the state forward remains our primary goal. We will continue to carry everyone along in our all programmes and policies because a shared vision is the true foundation of human progress. We must not dissipate energy working at cross-purposes. Our goals must be the same and the strategy for achieving them must also be the same. Partnership is our watch word.

Our experience in the past four years has informed a new realism in our approach to the administration of the state. One thing that has become apparent is that public expectations rise in the face of diminishing fiscal resources. It would be dishonest to pretend that the government alone can meet all these expectations. Even if government were Father Christmas, we need not remind ourselves that Christmas comes but once a year. We must find a creative meeting point between the rising expectations of the public and the dwindling resources of the state government. If we fail to do so, we would only succeed in raising false hopes and consequently engender despair and disappointment among our people. We have no intention of leaving a legacy of stunted ambitions, unrealised dreams and a state whose main physical features are uncompleted social and development projects. No. We set out to make a positive difference. We will not deviate from that chosen path of honour and integrity.

Our new, five-point development policy emphasises the administration's new approach to a healthy development and progress of the state and its people. Our priority is to consolidate the gains of the last four years. We shall devote the larger part of our financial resources into completing on-going projects throughout the state. However, we do not intend to be unnecessarily inflexible in the implementation of this policy. No parts of the state or communities will be denied their due share of the basic social amenities by reason of this policy of consolidation and completion. We shall maintain our firm policy of fair and equitable distribution of social amenities and the even spread of our development projects. Where these are lacking, we shall give the communities concerned their fair share without prejudice to the new policy.

Our second policy thrust is continued emphasis on rural development and rural empowerment. Those who in the past criticised our emphasis on rural development obviously missed the point. More than eighty per cent of our population live in the rural areas yet these areas lack the basic social amenities that add value to human life. They deserve due attention of the government. But we will not develop the rural areas at the expense of the urban areas. We will continue to give the urban areas appropriate attention in line with our policy of even development.

Our third policy thrust is increased food and cash crop production in the state. In the past four years, education was our priority. We believe that we have reached a point at which agriculture must be given equal attention. We intend to maintain our place as one of the bread baskets of the nation. Farmer's co-operatives will be the main plank of this policy of increased agricultural production. Through the farmer's co-operatives, our peasants will pull their resources to meet their needs for the necessary agricultural inputs. We will re-activate extension work to assist the farmers and encourage them to gradually adopt modern farming techniques for increased holdings and yields.

Our fourth policy thrust revolves around communal self-help. All communities throughout the state will be encouraged and assisted by government to embark on self-help projects. We will particularly encourage the setting up of cottage industries by communities. This policy is intended, if you like, to kill two birds with one stone. Such cottage industries are to use local agricultural produce as raw materials. This, we believe, will boost agricultural production as well as help in the industrialisation of our rural communities. For the avoidance of doubt, this policy is not limited to only cottage industries that use our local agricultural produce. We welcome medium and large-scale industries. We welcome foreign and indigenous investors. We promise all investors a friendly and enabling environment and all the necessary incentives such as hassle-free industrial plots.

Although the provision of basic social amenities is seen largely as the primary if not the only obligation of government to the people, we believe that if you give the people roads, water, light as well as health and educational facilities and leave their minds empty or undeveloped, you cannot have happy and productive citizens. The development of the mind is critical to human progress. We believe the time has come to begin the urgent process of re-engineering the mind of our people to position them for the exciting challenges of the new century in information technology, engineering, medicine and the arts. In accordance with our fifth policy thrust, this administration will refocus the intellectual energy of our youths towards self-pride, self-development and self-actualisation. The specific details of these policies will be unfolded in the days ahead.

My dear people of Nasarawa State, we invite you to stand with us on this morning of a renewal and view the vista of a bright future now in the near horizon. We invite you to join hands with us to take this state to where we want it to be. We invite you to re-commit yourselves to what is best for this state and its people. We invite you to be part of the government freely elected by the people of Nasarawa State for Nasarawa State. Let us leave this arena this morning fully resolved to fully serve our state. We must always remember that Nasarawa is our state and we are Nasarawa State.

Thank you and God bless.