May 29, 2015, shall be recorded in our history as the moment
when democracy finally was allowed to participate in Democracy Day. The reason
for this is the legion of average Nigerians who voted to make this happen.
Should any of you wish to see a true hero of democracy, don’t fret. Just look
in the nearest mirror.
The celebrations prior to this were false showings; they
were the commemoration of wrong.
The path we have taken to come to this august moment has not
been one of easy victory or swift progress. Continue..
Instead, it has been a path hewed by the triumph of
resilience over broken promises and fraudulent avowals of representative
governance. Reaching this fine moment has been a story told in the cadence of
the victory of common good over arrogant power.
The voice of the solitary poor man, no one hears. But the
votes of the poor became a potent army capable of toppling the very citadel of
high privilege in order to bring forth national awakening no less historic and
important than the very birth of this nation.
On this day, we shall witness the inauguration of Muhammadu
Buhari, a great, honorable and dedicated public servant as our president. This
is indeed an inspiring moment, a turning point in our national direction, and
the reclamation of our best destiny.
We shall celebrate this achievement but not in mindless,
care-free fashion. The road ahead is still choked with the debris of problems
left too long unattended.
We are well aware of the challenges pitted against our
wellbeing. Insecurity, economic decline and corruption, we must fight and fight
as if we are going to war not a carnival.
Most of all, we must fight the temptation of hopelessness,
the sense that little good will come out of even the greatest efforts.
This is where I want to thank and commend all those who
voted in the past election.
It is you who turned this day into the true celebration of
true democracy it was intended to be.
With no guarantee save your faith and armed solely with the
hope and promise of a better tomorrow through better governance, you fought the
mounting tide of power and money. That tide tried to induce you to sell your
democratic rights and your chance for a greater future on the cheap.
In the eyes of those
who were self-exalted, you had been debased and brought low by visible
circumstance of poverty and lack. You
seemed to them ripe for purchase. Yet, inside, you retained a greatness of
character and a loyalty to the democratic ideal incomprehensible to those who
believed that everything can be purchased.
You showed them that your self-definition as human beings
and as Nigerians was not for sale or tender. As a result, he who had been given
so much, so easily by so many was humbled. You who have been ridiculed, reduced
and written off were lifted up. The will of the people hath reclaimed its
sovereignty.
This has been a blossoming of justice and the illumination
of the power of human decency. So often,
Nigeria has been portrayed negatively before the world. Not this time.
The world is proud of what you have done and how you have
advanced the cause of fairness and right.
What you have done has lent solace to those still struggling
to establish democracy and responsive governance in their homelands.
They now see Nigeria as an inspiring example. They seek to
be like you, to travel the road you just trod.
Today, the old Nigeria is no longer in chains as we move
into a new era and take hold of our new selves. From President Buhari to the
state governors inaugurated this day, I wish them well and pray they govern in
an open, democratic way that assures your optimal wellbeing.
I ask that you, the people, maintain your diligence and help
guide those you have just elected.
The issues that confront us are deep and complex. They are
not susceptible to facile solution or inattention. Wise and sound policy is within our capacity.
But, we must have the will to accomplish it. If both the governed and
government work in league, there is nothing our beloved nation cannot overcome.
Let it be said that on this day, the nation consecrate
itself to the ideal that governance is the sacred instrument of the people and
never again shall it be the exclusive recreation of a select few. No longer
shall Democracy day be a shallow ritual. Henceforth, it is a living truth.
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