Chatham House: Buhari promises to fight corruption, tough stance on Boko Haram

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the upcoming general election in Nigeria, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, has said stability will return to the country if he emerges the winner.
Buhari, who spoke on Thursday at Chatham House in the United Kingdom, said the Peoples Democratic Party-led government of President Goodluck Jonathan has failed in several areas and that he stood the better chance of corrupting the shortcomings of the government.
“Let me assure you that if I am elected president, the world will have no cause to worry about Nigeria as it has had to recently; that Nigeria will return to its stabilising role in West Africa; and that no inch of Nigerian territory will ever be lost to the enemy because we will pay special attention to the welfare of our soldiers in and out of service, we will give them adequate and modern arms and ammunitions to work with, we will improve intelligence gathering and border controls to choke Boko Haram’s financial and equipment channels, we will be tough on terrorism and tough on its root causes by initiating a comprehensive economic development plan promoting infrastructural development, job creation, agriculture and industry in the affected areas.
“We will always act on time and not allow problems to irresponsibly fester, and I, Muhammadu Buhari, will always lead from the front and return Nigeria to its leadership role in regional and international efforts to combat terrorism.”
Answering questions, Buhari said on the introduction of Sharia in the country that it can only be achieved by making it superior to the Constitution.
“No one can impose Sharia on Nigeria without changing the constitution.
On attracting foreign investment to Nigeria, the retired General said the first thing to do was to tackle the security challenges bedevilling the country.
He said there is no one who will want to invest his money in an unsafe environment.
He said: “We have to very quickly put in place assurances and make the environment suitable,” Buhari stated.
On corruption, Buhari said he has tried to earn the confidence of those who are scared of his anti-corruption stance.
He said he has toured 35 states out of the 36 states of Nigeria and has organised meetings with investors in order to allay their fears over any clampdown if he gets elected.
He said his vision is for those “responsible for administering public funds should do so by the rules”.