President Bola Tinubu has called on Nigerians to keep faith with the country.
The appeal was made by the President on Friday during his nationwide broadcast on the 27th anniversary of Nigeria’s uninterrupted democracy, it was reported.
He welcomed criticism from Nigerian youths, but asked them to remain steadfast in the belief that the country would get better.
He said democracy fails when citizens lose faith in the process, adding that the National Assembly, judiciary, the press and civil society are the guardrails of Nigeria.
“Disagree with me, criticise me, but never stop believing in the country.
2. “To our young people, Nigeria is your home and your future. Here build, here work, here eat. Every great nation was built by those who stayed to solve problems, not by those who abandoned ship.
“To our forces, police and intelligence services, Nigeria salutes your sacrifices. “Thank you to our traditional rulers, faith leaders and community heads for your support for peace and reconciliation,” Tinubu said.
Meanwhile, Tinubu has warned bandits, kidnappers and sponsors of terrorism to surrender or face the full might of the Nigerian state.
The President’s warning was delivered on Friday in a nationwide broadcast to mark the 2026 Democracy Day and the 27th year of unbroken civilian rule, it was reported.
The country has made great strides in the war on terror with security forces going from training with foreign partners to pinpointing terrorist positions, Tinubu said.
The President said Nigerian security forces had “degraded” an ISWAP command centre in Arege, Borno State.
He added that terror-related deaths had dropped significantly since 2015.
“We’ve gone from training with our allies, the United States, France and other European countries, to precision targeting.” We degraded ISWAP’s command centre in Arege, Borno State. Terror deaths down 81% since 2015. “In the last one year, we have neutralized over 13,000 terrorists,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu said government would continue to provide a surrender window for those willing to lay down their arms.
He said Operation Safe Corridor had facilitated the surrender of more than 124,000 fighters and dependents since 2023.
“But we also keep the door of surrender open,” Tinubu further stated. Operation Safe Corridor has seen over 124,000 fighters and dependents surrender their arms since 2023.
“To bandits, kidnappers and sponsors of terror: Surrender or face the full might of the Nigerian State. These windows of surrender will not stay open forever. “No mercy shall be shown to those that trade in the blood of Nigerians.”
The President appealed to Nigerians to stay united and to avoid blaming any ethnic group for criminal activities.
“At a time like this, let us not assign blame or point fingers,” Tinubu added. Crime does not have an ethnicity. We must stand together and be assured that the enemies of our nation shall soon be history.
“We will overcome terror and we will continue to build a more prosperous country.”410
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