43 quotes found
"Is it with respect to the reference point of American elections? Or is it with respect to the 1999 elections or is it in respect to the 1983 elections in Nigeria or to the 2003 elections? So when people make statements, or even organizations, or even the U.S. State Department, they should qualify such statements and we know the reference point from which they are making their statement against. Once you know the reference point, then it will actually make sense."
"Myself, the government and people of Nigeria are inspired by the United States of America's achievement and the principles which guide it."
"Originality is the essence of true scholarship. Creativity is the soul of the true scholar."
"My stiffest earthly assignment is ended and my major life's work is done. My country is now free and I have been honoured to be its first indigenous head of state. What more could one desire in life?"
"The realization of New Africa can only be possible by the African cultivating spiritual balance, which leads to the practicalization of social regeneration, to realizing economic determination, becoming mentally emancipated, and ushering in a political resurgence."
"No matter how old an individual may be, no matter if he is young or old, if he thinks in accordance with the times he is immortal."
"There is plenty of room at the top because very few people care to travel beyond the average route. And so most of us seem satisfied to remain within the confines of mediocrity."
"Zik believed in a nation in which people are free to practice their faith without losing faith in our common patrimony, a nation of proud men and women able to hold their heads high among humanity because as Africans they possess a certain dignity. At the tactical level, his belief in compromise meant that he survived major political battles in order to fight the next battle. With regard to the evolution of democracy in our country, our present experience can benefit immensely from politics as it was played by Zik and his contemporaries. In this regard, one thing that marks out men like Zik … is that they believe in something. Their political activities were informed by certain core values which subsequently grew into a body of beliefs which largely inspired their politics. Those who followed them understood that they had to abide by those beliefs. In other words, the politics of ideals and ideas were the guiding principles of our founding fathers. In the case of the great Zik, it became fashionable among his adherents and supporters to be a Zikist. But interestingly, Zikism was not synonymous with an ethnic ideology nor did it a divisive cause. Instead, Zikism was more an ideology for African reniascence emphasizing the restoration of the dignity of the black man after centuries of colonial imposition and exploitation. It sought to empower the black man in general and the Nigerian in particular to attain great heights especially in the pursuit of knowledge which, for Zik, was critical to the emancipation of the black man. Yet Zikism did not degenerate to the level of a theology for a personality cult. This in fact is one of the refreshing and intriguing facets of Zik's political legacy."
"Despite the mythic heights to which he was raised, Azikiwe was nothing if not pragmatic, a realist always conscious of his limits and ever eager to extract all that was possible from that limited horizon."
"For Africa to move forward, Nigeria must be one of the anchor countries, if not the leading anchor country. It means that Nigeria must be good at home to be good outside. No doubt, our situation in the last decade or so had shown that we are not good enough at home; hence we are invariably absent at the table that we should be abroad.https://www.punchng.com/full-letter-obasanjo-writes-buhari-asks-president-to-halt-2019-ambition/%3famp"
"The lice of poor performance in government – poverty, insecurity, poor economic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condonation of misdeed – if not outright encouragement of it, lack of progress and hope for the future, lack of national cohesion and poor management of internal political dynamics and widening inequality – are very much with us today. With such lice of general and specific poor performance and crying poverty with us, our fingers will not be dry of ‘blood’.https://www.punchng.com/full-letter-obasanjo-writes-buhari-asks-president-to-halt-2019-ambition/%3famp"
"We have only one choice left to take us out of Egypt to the promised land. And that is the coalition of the concerned and the willing – ready for positive and drastic change, progress and involvement. Change that will give hope and future to all our youth and dignity and full participation to all our women.https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/256524-nigeria-needs-third-force-dislodge-buhari-obasanjo.html"
"Nigeria has no business being poor, we have all it takes to make Africa great."
"The last general election was anything but free and fair. The only political parties that could complain of election rigging are those parties that lacked the resources to rig. There is ample evidence that rigging and thuggery were relative to the resources available to the parties. This conclusively proved to us that the parties have not developed confidence in the presidential system of government on which the nation invested so much material and human resources."
"I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody."
"I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room."
"The principal thrust of this new Administration is to consolidate on the achievements of the last four years, correct the lapses inevitable in all human endeavors and tackle the new challenges the country is faced with and chart a bold plan for transforming Nigeria."
"I came to this world with nothing and I will leave with nothing, why should I steal?"
"Nigeria remains deeply concerned over the illicit trade, transfer, and circulation of small arms and light weapons. Their excessive accumulation and uncontrolled spread in many regions of the world are having devastating humanitarian and socio-economic consequences, especially on the continent of Africa."
"Fellow Nigerians, on the strength of your overwhelming support for me and my political party, I started this journey with a great deal of promise and expectation from you. I never intended to be just politically correct but to do the correct things that will make meaningful impact on the lives of the common Nigerian."
"# Today, we are privileged to mark the longest period of unbroken democratic leadership and 5th peaceful transfer of power from one democratically elected government to another in Nigeria."
"# I was involved at close quarters in the struggle to keep Nigeria one. I can, therefore, do no more than dedicate the rest of my life to work for the unity of Nigeria and upliftment of Nigerians."
"# What we require is the will to get our acts together. Our strength is in our people our youth, our culture, our resilience, our ability to succeed despite the odds Buhari"
"# Without Nigerian influence and resources, the liberation of Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and ultimately South Africa would have come at a greater cost."
"# With leadership and a sense of purpose, we can lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years Muhammadu Buharis democracy day speech"
"# Some people said that I should write a book,I don't think I will never write a book, mainly I don't want to hurt anybody, hurting in the sense that, there are certain people that I cannot resist abusing, but that hasn't to do with the children and grandchildren, so I don't want to hurt their children and grandchildren,so for the sake of their children and grandchildren, I have left them."
"As flag-bearers, we are not unmindful of the heavy burden and responsibility that we carry. We are not unmindful of the huge expectations of our people, young and old, man and woman, able and disabled. Nor are we unmindful of the misery and poverty that the generality of our people have had to endure almost forty years after Independence."
"The Corona crisis will shrink the inflow of dollars. Hopefully, this is temporary, no more than a few months. CBN can allow some downward pressure on the naira without energetically intervening to defend the exchange rate. Only if and when the rate seems that it might dip precipitously should the CBN intervene."
"Those who suffered casualties during the gunshot need to answer some questions too. How are they there? How long where they there? What kind of characters are they? Even-though we want to help we still must extract information to help the government prepare in future or understand how and when to react."
"The other candidates are all good men. But I sincerely believe I am the person this moment calls for."
"I humbly ask that you nominate me as the party’s presidential candidate. Together we shall forge an even better party and a greater Nigeria."
"I have the experience. I led the transformation of Lagos from a dangerous, unwelcoming place in 1999 to a clean, safe, and vibrant place and the 5th largest economy in all of Africa. I am a serious man with a serious purpose and I will use all that I know and all of my abilities to the benefit of the people."
"Over six decades ago, our founding fathers gave bravely of themselves to place Nigeria on the map as an independent nation."
"The peaceful transition from one government to another is now our political tradition. This handover symbolizes our trust in God, our enduring faith in representative governance and our belief in our ability to reshape this nation into the society it was always meant to be."
"We must promote unity and stability for all. Whether you voted for me during the elections, or not, I am your President. I will work on your behalf to ensure a turning point of prosperity."
"Good governance can neither be decreed as you will find in dictatorships nor legislated in a democratic set up alone. It can only be achieved by a people’s consensus around doing the right thing for the right purpose."
"I believe that with what we left behind and with what the new government will also acquire we will be able to [bring] this war on terror to a reasonable conclusion."
"I like to ask people: was it that there was 24-hour electricity and Jonathan came and switched it off and damaged the equipment? The answer is no. Power is an age-old problem in Nigeria and we have to understand that."
"I can tell you very clearly that violence will not break out because of my interests. I can tell you very clearly."
"Politics in the Nigerian standard is about betrayals. https://www.thecable.ng/jonathan-nigerian-politics-is-about-betrayal-i-witnessed-it-in-2015/"
"In Nigerian Politics, you find it difficult to see somebody who will say the same thing in the morning and in the evening."
"Most Nigerian politicians, you cannot take their words to the bank."
"Politics in the Nigerian Standard,You will find it difficult to see somebody who will say the same thing in the morning and say the same thing in the afternoon and in the evening."