Buhari in Sallah message: We cannot “separate the present from the past.”

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday reassured Nigerians that his administration was committed to removing “the hardships the country is going through.”

In a Sallah message to Nigerians to mark Monday’s Eid-el-Kabir, Mr. Buhari explained that “the present recession is as a result of cumulative effects of worldwide economic downturn and failure in the past to plan and save for difficult times.”

“It is impossible to separate the present from the past to appreciate the extent to which mistakes of the past are affecting everyday life today,” he said.

He highlighted various sectors his administration was working on to improve the life of Nigerians.

Read the president’s full statement below:

Fellow Compatriots, as you celebrate the Eid-El-Kabir, I salute your steadfastness in spite of the difficult economic times the country is going through.

The lessons of the Eid are piety and sacrifice and, my dear brothers and sisters, you have exhibited these in equal measure.

The present recession is as a result of cumulative effects of worldwide economic downturn and failure in the past to plan and save for difficult times. It is impossible to separate the present from the past to appreciate the extent to which mistakes of the past are affecting everyday life today.

I assure you that this administration is working round the clock to remove the hardships the country is going through. Rail and road constructions, projects in the housing sector, support for farmers and for small and medium scale industries, youth and women’s empowerment programmes, support for revival of industries are all designed to reinvigorate the economy and enhance living standards of ordinary people.

We are getting security right. We are stopping corruption in its tracks and we will get the economy right by the Grace of God.

I enjoin Muslims to live by the dictates of Islam, to keep good relationships with their Christian brothers and sisters and as patriots to maintain the spirit of the Nigerian nation.

I wish everyone happy holidays.