President Bola Tinubu has appealed to Nigerians to remain faithful to 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 urged them to remain resolute 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. Build here, work here, eat here. Every great nation was built by those who stuck around to solve problems, not by those who jumped ship.
Nigeria salutes your sacrifices to our forces, police and intelligence services. “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.
It was reported that the President’s warning came in a nationwide broadcast to mark the 2026 Democracy Day and the 27th year of uninterrupted civilian rule on Friday.
The country has made great strides in the war on terror with security forces moving 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 fallen sharply since 2015.
“We’ve gone from training with our allies, the United States, France and other European countries, to precision targeting.” We degraded ISWAP command centre in Arege, Borno State. Terror-related deaths are down 81% since 2015. “In the last one year, we have neutralized over 13,000 terrorists,” Tinubu said.
Government will keep providing a surrender window for those willing to lay down their arms, Tinubu said.
Operation Safe Corridor had helped the surrender of more than 124,000 fighters and dependents since 2023, he said.
“But we also leave the door of surrender open,” Tinubu further said. Since 2023, Operation Safe Corridor has seen more than 124,000 fighters and dependents surrender their arms.
“To bandits, kidnappers and sponsors of terror: Surrender or face the full weight of the Nigerian State. These windows of surrender will not remain open indefinitely. “There will be no mercy for those who trade in the blood of Nigerians.”
The President appealed to Nigerians to stay united and to avoid blaming any ethnic group for criminal activities.
Tinubu added, “Let us not at this time engage in blame game or finger pointing.” Crime does not have an ethnicity. Let us unite and be certain that the enemies of our country will soon be history.
“We will defeat terror and we will continue to build a more prosperous country.”
