Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his feelings to Nigerians, saying he share their pains and understands what they are going through.
Buhari made this known on Saturday, during his presidential address to the nation on its 62nd Independence Day Anniversary.
Nigerians were reassured by Buhari that their endurance and tolerance with his government will not be in vain.
The address reads: “Fellow Nigerians, I address you today, with a deep sense of gratitude to God and a high level of appreciation to all Nigerians whose tremendous goodwill gave me the opportunity to provide leadership for our great country at one of the trying times in her history.
“Conscious that today’s address would be my last on an Independence Day as your President; I speak to the millions of Nigerians, who believed in me, propelled and stood by me in my quest to bequeath a country where all citizens have equal opportunities to achieve their lives desires in a peaceful atmosphere.
“I share the pains Nigerians are going through and I assure you that your resilience and patience would not be in vain as this administration continues to reposition as well as strengthen the security agencies to enable them to deal with all forms of security challenges.”
Additionally, President Buhari requested that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), end its long protracted current strike.
“I must confess that I am very pained by the recurring disruption to our tertiary education system and I am using this Independence Day celebration to re-iterate my call for the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to return to the classroom while assuring them to deal with their contending issues within the limits of the scarce resources available,” the president said.
“This administration has made appreciable progress in redressing these issues that have been lingering for over eleven years.”
Buhari further urged candidates and political parties to refrain from using hate speech in their campaigns ahead of the general election in 2023.