He gave the speech at a meeting with the Catholic bishops in
Abuja
One Nation Bound in Freedom, Peace and Unity.
As our nation approaches perhaps the most crucial election in
our
history, all true patriots are called to deeper reflection of the
basic ingredients that bind the nation together- our common
freedom, peace and unity. This reflection is even more relevant
in the face of the illegal postponement of the general
elections-
a feat achieved through various sinister ploys and with the sole
aim of avoiding the will and verdict of the people. In all of
these,
I feel the urgeto communicate some of my personal vision and
thoughts to the people of our great country, especially on the
question of religion, a sensitive matter for many citizens that
has become the most frequently used tool by the ruling party.
This affordsme an opportunity to give my response to the
ruling
party’s false propaganda and lies against my person.
Needless to say, we must at all times hold the unity, peace and
progress of our dear nation paramount and above all other
considerations, especially politics. Those who deliberately
disseminate divisive disinformation and attempt to stoke
primordial sentiments using religion or ethnicity and create
fear
in the minds of our people fail the standard of patriotism this
nation demands of them and deserves from them. The ruling
government and PDP have adopted this sad divisive and false
narrative as their strategy to prevent the inevitable change
that our country and people desire and require. And they have
succeeded in making some of us victims of the tales which they
invent, propagate and sell as gospel truth to gullible listeners,
while it is all nothing but a tissue of lies.
I would like to solemnly declare that in spite of what our
detractors say, I am not a religious fanatic of any sort and I
have never been. In all my life, I have never supported
extremism
of any kind, and nowhere in my record of service to this nation
can this false toga, political opponents have tried so hard to
put
on me, be substantiated. Indeed, it is very unfortunate and I
feel extremely sad that I have to give this type of assurance.
My background is in the army, and there is no doubt that the
military is the most integrated pan-Nigerian institution. And
even today, the military is one of the institutions that
represents the pride of our nation’s possibilities in unity.
Compatriots from every corner of this country come together,
work and live together, entrust their lives to each other and
integrate their families. It is a military where many of my
dearest friends, from all faiths and parts of the country, lost
their lives defending the unity of our nation. That was the
military I served in, and in that military it was impossible to be
a
bigot.
For me, the issue of religion was, and should always, be a
matter
of personal conviction. This personal conviction approach to
religion has defined my work and interactions all my life,
including my tenure in office as military Head of State. The
religion of all those I worked with was never a factor in their
progress or in what happened to them. All that mattered then,
and should still matter today, are competence, integrity and
readiness to be fair to all.
I was recently informed that we had a balanced cabinet with
key
positions such as Finance, Energy and Defence occupied by
Christians. In addition, 11 of the 19 governors I appointed were
Christians. My most memorable recollections of subordinate
service was under Christian bosses, the finest our country had
then, and among the most respected today. Indeed one of the
best appraisals I received in the course of my military career
was
from General T.Y Danjuma.
Government has no business preferring one religion to the
other.
The role of government is to protect lives and properties of
citizens and to respect and protect their constitutional rights.
One critical freedom that every government must strive to
protect is the liberty for citizens to exercise their respective
faiths, Christians and Muslims or others, in a lawful manner
without fear or hindrance and to prosecute those who use
religion as an excuse to destroy homes, schools and places of
worship. When governments fail in that duty, they must then
assist in the rebuilding of structures including destroyed places
of worship and giving full restitution for lost property. We,
Nigerians, are a religious people, and the burning of places of
worship constitutes one of the vilest forms of abomination to
all
those who believe in God. It is the duty of governments to
protect this important sensitivity.
Let me state this categorically, that I, MuhammaduBuhari, as
an
individual, and as president of this great country by the grace
of God, given the opportunity to serve, have no personal
religious
agenda. And I will not entertain, consider or promote the
religious
agenda of anyone. I will not condone any initiative that seeks
to
promote one religion over the other. Neither I, nor my party, or
any member of my team has any desire or plan to Islamize or
Christianize Nigeria or support anyone with such intention.
Although I am a practising Muslim, and I have been so all my
life,
I have never belonged to, nor shared the views of, any
extremist
group. I am not even a cleric. I believe that religion is personal
and private. Many of the people close to me are not of my
religion. My cook and driver for 20 years are Christians, Most
of
my bodyguards are Christians. Some were killed while
protecting
me in the terrorist attack on my convoy in Kaduna. If I have
not
Islamized these people who serve under me, how will I Islamize
the
likes of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Ogbonnaya Onu, Governors
RochasOkorocha, Kayode Fayemi, Rotimi Amaechi or Professor
Yemi Osinbajo who is a senior advocate of Nigeria and a
pastor?
Or how will I Islamize Nigeria?
Our constitution, which in many respects, is similar to the
American constitution does not permit a state religion. The
Sharia identified in the constitution is almost synonymous with
customary law. It is only applicable in matters of personal
status
such as marriage, divorce and inheritance. This has been the
case
since the 1979 constitution. Just as no one can make any
customary or any other religious law the law of Nigeria, so
Sharia
cannot therefore be the law of Nigeria.
My record is evidence of this strongly held belief. Before my
tenure, the deadly and violent extremist radical sect,
Maitasine
carried out terrorist activities in the north, especially Kano;
When it erupted again in Yola, during my tenure, I took direct
command, and personally led the successful effort to eradicate
the threat to our country. Similarly, when some Chadian
insurgents attempted to occupy Nigerian territory, I led the
military confrontation that eliminated the threat.
For all purposes, we must all learn to live together as brothers
and sisters, because the problems that bedevil our nation do
not
discriminate based on religion or ethnicity. Poverty and hunger
do not know or respect religion or creed. When a bomb explodes
in
a market, it kills and maims without regard for religion or
ethnicity. The millions of the unemployed youth of our country
cut across all tribes and religions.
Wicked propagandists continue to spread vicious lies about me
for
political gain, including claiming that I once asked Muslims not
to
vote for Christians. This must be the height of absurdity. How
could I ever say that, when whoever voted for me would be
voting
for the Christian running with me on the same ticket? And how
could I ever say that of Christians when my own holy book, the
Qur’an, tells me that in the entire world those that are
nearest
in love to me are those who believe in Jesus Christ [AS]? I ask,
who, intending to win any election, ever does that? How can I
choose southern Christian running mates [Chuba Okadigbo of
blessed memory, Pastor Tunde Bakare and Pastor YemiOsinbajo]
and with them by my side make such silly utterances?
Because they have no record, they must seek to destroy our
own;
and because they have no integrity, they feel they must
impugn
our own.
We must reject those who propagate hatred, ethnicity,
divisiveness, sectionalism or seek to manipulate our religious
differences in such cynical fashion. On our part, we will remain
undeterred: our commitment is to bring about change in the
way
we live and think and work in this nation; and our goal is to
ensure a decent existence for all. And, by the Grace of God,
that
is what we will do—we will remain true to our commitment and
we
will achieve our goal.
May God bless Nigeria and its people for all time.
General Muhammadu Buhari

Awsome! Datz ma incoming presido....God bless GMB. I've Decided to #MARCH4BUHARI

GMB you have my vote come #march