This is even as he declared that if voted as Nigeria’s next president, his administration would tackle insurgency, corruption and unemployment headlong with a view to positioning the country on the path of greatness.
The retired General stated these at the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) Square in Bauchi, where he addressed a mammoth crowd of supporters in continuation of his nationwide campaign tour ahead the presidential election.
According to the former head of state, the Nigerian military had performed excellently in peacekeeping operations in Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan, which had been globally acknowledged, wondering why they could not replicate same in their fatherland in the war against terrorism.
He stated that on coming on board, he would look into the challenges facing the country’s armed forces with a view to making them modern forces capable of tacking challenges like insurgency.
“APC government at the federal level will find a lasting solution to the problem of insecurity. We are going to look into the problems confronting the police, army, navy and Air Force who, despite the huge money being spent on them as salaries and for procuring weapons for them by the government, could still find it difficult to face insurgents.
“It is disgraceful for Nigeria despite the fact that our military had participated in peacekeeping operations in Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan and did well, they could not battle terrorists in Nigeria,” Buhari told an enthusiastic crowd, which patiently waited for him at the venue for several hours before his arrival at about 7:10p.m.
He stated that corruption was a monumental problem facing the country today, submitting that it was responsible for unemployment in the country.
Buhari, however, declared that the APC government would not only punish anyone who stole public funds but also ensure that such person refunded the stolen public wealth.
“If you give us your mandate, we will put an end to corruption in Nigeria. Corruption has debarred Nigeria’s progress. Without corruption, Nigeria will be better off. We are going to deal with corrupt people if we are elected.
“If we stop corruption, we will get more money to spend to boost electricity supply in the country. With stable power supply, we will generate more employment opportunities for our teeming youths, while small scale businesses will also get a boost,” he said.
Speaking on the unemployment situation in the country as of now, the APC presidential candidate said the situation was unacceptable, considering the great potential of Nigeria, assuring that if elected as the next president, he would leave no stone unturned in tackling the problem.
According to Buhari, about 60 out of every 100 Nigerians were youths, majority of who, he said, graduated from schools without jobs, submitting that his administration, if elected, would ensure meaningful engagement of the youth in productive enterprises.
He stated that unemployed youths would be involved in the agricultural sector to boost food production and food security in the country, adding that more industries would be established to provide jobs for Nigerians.
He assured that youths to be engaged in agriculture would be provided with farm inputs, including fertilizer, improved seedlings, among others, and other incentives to encourage them positively, while banks would be encouraged to give them loans.
“If you vote us to power, we will provide employment for our youths. Unemployed youths would be deployed in the agriculture sector where they will get farm inputs to boost food production and food security in the country.
“We will also establish more industries to provide jobs for Nigerians. Banks will be encouraged to provide loan facilities for small scale entrepreneurs to boost economic activities. We will, however, ensure that anyone who gets loan from the banks repay because such loan is the people’s money.”
Buhari expressed deep appreciation to the people of Bauchi for turning out en masse to receive his campaign team both at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport and at the campaign venue.
He urged them to replicate same by coming out to collect their permanent voter cards (PCVs) and use same in the elections holding this month.
While advising the people to make good use of their power, which, he said, was their voter cards, Buhari said, “come out to vote for APC in all elections. Let us use of votes to chase away PDP.”
He told the people to ensure that they did not only vote but also protected their votes by staying at their polling units until results were declared.
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