If you missed the live streaming, here is the
full text of Buhari's speech at the Chatham
house today
Prospects for Democratic Consolidation in
Africa: Nigeria’s Transition
Permit me to start by thanking Chatham
House for the invitation to talk about this
important topic at this crucial time. When
speaking about Nigeria overseas, I normally
prefer to be my country’s public relations and
marketing officer, extolling her virtues and
hoping to attract investments and tourists. But
as we all know, Nigeria is now battling with
many challenges, and if I refer to them, I do
so only to impress on our friends in the
United Kingdom that we are quite aware of
our shortcomings and are doing our best to
address them.
The 2015 general election in Nigeria is
generating a lot of interests within and
outside the country. This is understandable.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and
largest economy, is at a defining moment, a
moment that has great implications beyond
the democratic project and beyond the
borders of my dear country.
So let me say upfront that the global interest
in Nigeria’s landmark election is not
misplaced at all and indeed should be
commended; for this is an election that has
serious import for the world. I urge the
international community to continue to focus
on Nigeria at this very critical moment. Given
increasing global linkages, it is in our
collective interests that the postponed
elections should hold on the rescheduled
dates; that they should be free and fair; that
their outcomes should be respected by all
parties; and that any form of extension, under
whichever guise, is unconstitutional and will
not be tolerated.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the
dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the collapse
of communism and the end of the Cold War,
democracy became the dominant and most
preferred system of government across the
globe. That global transition has been aptly
captured as the triumph of democracy and the
‘most pre-eminent political idea of our time.’
On a personal note, the phased end of the
USSR was a turning point for me. It convinced
me that change can be brought about without
firing a single shot.
As you all know, I had been a military head of
state in Nigeria for twenty months. We
intervened because we were unhappy with
the state of affairs in our country. We wanted
to arrest the drift. Driven by patriotism,
influenced by the prevalence and popularity
of such drastic measures all over Africa and
elsewhere, we fought our way to power. But
the global triumph of democracy has shown
that another and a preferable path to change
is possible. It is an important lesson I have
carried with me since, and a lesson that is not
lost on the African continent.
In the last two decades, democracy has grown
strong roots in Africa. Elections, once so rare,
are now so commonplace. As at the time I was
a military head of state between 1983 and
1985, only four African countries held regular
multi-party elections. But the number of
electoral democracies in Africa, according to
Freedom House, jumped to 10 in 1992/1993
then to 18 in 1994/1995 and to 24 in
2005/2006. According to the New York Times,
42 of the 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa
conducted multi-party elections between 1990
and 2002.
full text of Buhari's speech at the Chatham
house today
Prospects for Democratic Consolidation in
Africa: Nigeria’s Transition
Permit me to start by thanking Chatham
House for the invitation to talk about this
important topic at this crucial time. When
speaking about Nigeria overseas, I normally
prefer to be my country’s public relations and
marketing officer, extolling her virtues and
hoping to attract investments and tourists. But
as we all know, Nigeria is now battling with
many challenges, and if I refer to them, I do
so only to impress on our friends in the
United Kingdom that we are quite aware of
our shortcomings and are doing our best to
address them.
The 2015 general election in Nigeria is
generating a lot of interests within and
outside the country. This is understandable.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and
largest economy, is at a defining moment, a
moment that has great implications beyond
the democratic project and beyond the
borders of my dear country.
So let me say upfront that the global interest
in Nigeria’s landmark election is not
misplaced at all and indeed should be
commended; for this is an election that has
serious import for the world. I urge the
international community to continue to focus
on Nigeria at this very critical moment. Given
increasing global linkages, it is in our
collective interests that the postponed
elections should hold on the rescheduled
dates; that they should be free and fair; that
their outcomes should be respected by all
parties; and that any form of extension, under
whichever guise, is unconstitutional and will
not be tolerated.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the
dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the collapse
of communism and the end of the Cold War,
democracy became the dominant and most
preferred system of government across the
globe. That global transition has been aptly
captured as the triumph of democracy and the
‘most pre-eminent political idea of our time.’
On a personal note, the phased end of the
USSR was a turning point for me. It convinced
me that change can be brought about without
firing a single shot.
As you all know, I had been a military head of
state in Nigeria for twenty months. We
intervened because we were unhappy with
the state of affairs in our country. We wanted
to arrest the drift. Driven by patriotism,
influenced by the prevalence and popularity
of such drastic measures all over Africa and
elsewhere, we fought our way to power. But
the global triumph of democracy has shown
that another and a preferable path to change
is possible. It is an important lesson I have
carried with me since, and a lesson that is not
lost on the African continent.
In the last two decades, democracy has grown
strong roots in Africa. Elections, once so rare,
are now so commonplace. As at the time I was
a military head of state between 1983 and
1985, only four African countries held regular
multi-party elections. But the number of
electoral democracies in Africa, according to
Freedom House, jumped to 10 in 1992/1993
then to 18 in 1994/1995 and to 24 in
2005/2006. According to the New York Times,
42 of the 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa
conducted multi-party elections between 1990
and 2002.
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