On August 21 2017, the president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari gave his speech after returning from from London due to an undisclosed ailment. You can read the full text below;
My dear citizens,
I am very grateful to God and to all Nigerians for their
prayers. I am pleased to be back on home soil among my brothers and sisters.
2. In the course of my stay in the United Kingdom, I have
been kept in daily touch with events at home. Nigerians are robust and lively
in discussing their affairs, but I was distressed to notice that some of the
comments, especially in the social media have crossed our national red lines by
daring to question our collective existence as a nation. This is a step too
far.
3. In 2003 after I joined partisan politics, the late Chief
Emeka Ojukwu came and stayed as my guest in my hometown Daura. Over two days we
discussed in great depth till late into the night and analyzed the problems of
Nigeria. We both came to the conclusion that the country must remain one and
united.
4. Nigeria’s unity is settled and not negotiable. We shall
not allow irresponsible elements to start trouble and when things get bad they
run away and saddle others with the responsibility of bringing back order, if
necessary with their blood.
5. Every Nigerian has the
right to live and pursue his business anywhere in Nigeria without let or hindrance.
6. I believe the very vast
majority of Nigerians share this view.
7. This is not to deny that
there are legitimate concerns. Every group has a grievance. But the beauty and
attraction of a federation is that it allows different groups to air their
grievances and work out a mode of co-existence.
8. The National Assembly and
the National Council of State are the legitimate and appropriate bodies for
national discourse.
9. The national consensus is
that, it is better to live together than to live apart.
10. Furthermore, I am charging the Security Agencies not to
let the successes achieved in the last 18 months be a sign to relax.
11. Terrorists and criminals
must be fought and destroyed relentlessly so that the majority of us can live
in peace and safety.
12. Therefore we are going to
reinforce and reinvigorate the fight not only against; elements of Boko Haram
which are attempting a new series of attacks on soft targets kidnappings,
farmers versus herdsmen clashes, in addition to ethnic violence fuelled by
political mischief makers. We shall tackle them all.
13. Finally, dear Nigerians,
our collective interest now is to eschew petty differences and come together to
face common challenges of; economic security, political evolution and integration
as well as lasting peace among all
Nigerians.
14. I remain resolutely
committed to ensuring that these goals are achieved and maintained. I am so
glad to be home.
15. Thank you and may God
bless our dear Nation.

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