1. I greet and felicitate with you all as we enter the New Year today.
As we mark the beginning of this New Year, 2015, a new nation is being
born. A new nation is being born because of the foundations we have
all laid, working together for the good and progress of our dear
fatherland.
2. I join you all in thanking God Almighty who has brought us this
far, for continually bestowing His Grace upon us and for guiding our
great nation safely through all the challenges of the past year.
3. This year, as in the year past, I reaffirm my commitment to work to
ensure a secure future for our dear country and the generations yet
unborn.
4. Last year, we celebrated our hundredth year of nationhood. The year
brought us further progress, challenges and fresh opportunities.
5. We have contended with the normal challenges of nation-building
and the unusual challenges of terrorism.
6. But we have continued to vigorously confront those who seek to
destroy the bonds of unity that hold us together.
7. On this first day of the New Year, I want to pay special tribute to
the gallant officers, men and women of our Armed Forces and other
security agencies who have been in the forefront of the war against
terrorism and violent extremism in our country and sub-region.
8. I also commend all Nigerians who have remained vigilant and
cooperative with our security agencies in the fight against the common
enemy.
9. We are re-equipping and re-positioning our armed forces to enhance
their capacity to win the ongoing war against terror and insurgency.
10. Regrettably, terrorists have unleashed much pain and agony on our
land. They have made widows of our mothers and sisters and orphans of
our children. They have shut down businesses, desecrated places of
worship and brought untold hardship to both men and women. They have
violated the culture and peaceful way of life in our country, which
took generations to build.
11. They have destroyed countless schools and displaced people from
their communities, driving them into exile.
12. I want to assure you that the terrorists will not get away with
their atrocities: they will not win; they will be routed. As
President, I feel the pain of all affected communities and families. I
hear their cries and share their sorrow and pain.
13. We will not forget; we will not look the other way. We have done a
lot of painstaking planning and work to resolve the current security
challenge. We will bring justice to the savage terrorists known as
Boko Haram. They will be defeated.
14. That is the solemn commitment I make today as President of the
Federal Republic, and Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces.
15. By the Special Grace of God, the Federal Government, under my
leadership, has continued, in the past four years to lead our country
forward, even under the most trying circumstances.
16. The progress we have made in priority areas bears us testimony.
17. Amongst other achievements, we have rehabilitated and expanded our
rail transportation network, successfully privatized power generation
and distribution, significantly reformed and increased local
participation in our oil and gas industry, and improved nationwide
access to potable water from 57% in 2010, to 70% at present.
18. We have also made significant progress in improving access to
primary, secondary and tertiary education by building and equipping
more schools, including special Almajiri schools, and establishing
additional universities to ensure that each state of the nation now
has at least one Federal University.
19. Our national economy maintained a steady growth rate of close to
seven per cent in the past four years and millions of fresh employment
opportunities were created for our people as a direct consequence.
20. Recently, we launched the Youth Employment in Agriculture
Programme (YEAP) and the $100 million dollars Government and Donor
Fund for Agriculture Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN) to fast-track the
positive transformation of our agricultural sector.
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