Being full text of address by His Excellency, President Olusegun Obasanjo at the inaugural ceremony and commencement of second term as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Abuja, May 29, 2003.

Fellow Nigerians, let us thank God for this great day in the history of our nation. Let us praise the Almighty for guiding us through many weeks of a difficult but successful electoral process, culminating in today’s milestone event of civilian-to-civilian transition, as we continue on our political journey towards sustainable democracy in a truly united nation.

Exactly four years ago to this day, I humbly accepted the mantle of leadership of this country, as determined by the mandate offered to me by the results of the preceding elections. It will be recalled that our campaign slogan had been "the leadership you can trust". This was meant in the fullest sense, and I immediately embarked, with all resources at my disposal, to work hard in order to earn that trust. I am indeed delighted to regard the renewed mandate as affirmation that our leadership has been accepted as trustworthy.

Furthermore, I am humbled by the confidence reposed in our leadership by the overwhelming response to our campaign for continuity, stability and progress. Let me assure you that, for as long as God gives me the strength, I will not spare any effort in rising to this challenge of building firmly and decisively on our achievements in the last four years. By the Grace of God Almighty, we will draw on the lessons learnt so far, and, with your patriotic support, we will ‘confidently advance towards our vision of a united Nigeria, a strong Nigeria, a prosperous Nigeria, a peaceful Nigeria, a just Nigeria, indeed a great Nigeria. This is the Nigeria of our God-ordained destiny. This is the Nigeria that is the permanent goal in our leadership vision.

I would like to offer this day, which is also the fourth National Democracy, Human Rights and Thanksgiving Day, as a prize for every Nigerian man, woman and child who in their various ways, directly and indirectly, have contributed to the march of democracy and good governance over the last four years. All Nigerians deserve commendation for their patience with a learning curve that began with the transition from the darkest episode of our history to the dawn of hope. Of course, there have been numerous bumps in the process, but we have taken them in our strides. Whereas there are a few who may have suffered as a result of the bumps, we are pleased to note that there are more Nigerians who are openly acknowledging that they have gained democracy dividends.

For all of us, today is a day to celebrate the fact that Nigeria has not only remained intact, but also that the nation is getting stronger, with institutions that are firming up, and a society that is no longer in despair because in many respects the future is looking much, much brighter.

My special appreciation goes to the Vice President and the members of the Federal Executive Council. The collective dedication and hard work of these men and women, have been the driving force for moving Nigeria forward to the point that today, we can be confident in our ability to move Nigeria forward, let us acknowledge with deepest appreciation the National Assembly where Senators and Members of the House of Representatives have put in their best to legislatively steer the ship of nation over largely uncharted waters. The learning process for them has not been easy, but thanks to the efforts of some of them, the next four years should hold better prospects for law-making in this country, not to mention the prospects of higher degree of harmony between the Executive and the Legislature, which is a sine qua non for the efficient and effective democratic management of affairs of this nation.

Let us thank the Members of the National Council of State for their prompt and regular regard for their constitutional responsibilities.

We must appreciate that our democratic machine could only move this far because of the supportive role of all elected officials at state and local government levels. These officials have made vital contributions to the nurturing of grassroots democracy, which, indeed, is the base for our national democracy.

We acknowledge, with deep appreciation, the consistent support of our foreign partners over the last four years. Beginning with expression of faith in our transition, these partners have since welcomed us back into the comity of nations, where our honour has been fully restored, and we are now fully respected, as we discharge our obligations consistent with our foreign policy. We thank those foreign investors who have followed with substantial investment in our future and raised our profile for many others who are yet to come in.

Let me once again commend the INEC Chairman, his fellow Commissioners, his staff and officials who have done remarkably well in managing the last elections. The sheer scale of the logistics of moving huge quantities of materials, coordinating and conducting the voting process in thousands of polling stations across this relatively huge country, should earn INEC a place of honour in our history and among other electoral bodies in the world. INEC have not claimed perfection, and no human action can ever be described as perfect, nevertheless the post-election reviews should stand them in good stead to strengthen our democratic practice.

Fellow Nigerians, you do not need reminding that this inauguration has completed the task for which we have all fervently prayed and worked hard, namely civilian-to-civilian transition. Skeptics, basing their prediction on electoral antecedents, had predicted the worst possible scenario for our elections. Let us, thank God that they have been proven wrong. And, with your mandate, I pledge to provide leadership that will consolidate this new democratic foundation and ensure that future elections will not only be successful but expedite the maturing of our nation as a truly democratic country in which Nigerians can choose their leaders without rancour.

In this context, I would like to commend the Election Tribunals for their decisions in settling disputes arising from the elections brought before them.

All over the world, elections manifest various degrees of imperfection. It is for this reason that the Election Tribunals were instituted as an avenue for all those who may have grievances to seek redress. We thus note with satisfaction that the Election Tribunals are indeed serving to add credibility and faith to the electoral process.

Now is the time to once more commend all participants in these elections, including leaders of all parties and their supporters and of course the candidates for all the parties. Every participant in every way has added value to the democratic principles that propelled the elections. Let me extend my hearty congratulations to all the winners into the various elected offices. I sincerely hope that you will remember always that those who elected you will continue to look up to you for leadership. To those who may not have won this time, the nation owes you appreciation for your input of dynamism into our electoral process, thus setting us firmly on the path of democracy.

Fellow Nigerians, while we celebrate today as the crowning moment of the elections, we must not forget that the process has entailed fighting on numerous fronts, especially for the political contestants who tend to see the electorate as a battleground where opponents are to be vanquished. Naturally the electioneering has meant times of heightened passion for individuals as well as groups and communities who pushed for victory. A large number of people came out of the election experience feeling hurt with mostly emotional injuries, but in some instances, regrettably, there had been physical wounds, and even death.

But the end of it all, we should -and we must- be able to look back with the satisfaction that it had been for a good cause, since we all aimed to serve-the cause of democracy, through exercising our democratic right to persuade our fellow citizens to vote for us.

This is why I see my initial assignment as president in .trying to heal the wounds from the elections. As clearly expressed and implied in my oath of office, I intend to use my mandate to provide quality leadership for all of Nigeria and for all Nigerians, regardless of their political persuasions. Anything less would be unconstitutional, morally inadequate, and contrary to the will of God whose wishes are my command. Above all, in adherence to my leadership vision of a greater Nigeria, the only way to advance this country that belongs to all of us is through solidarity and hard work.

Fellow Nigerians, the coincidence of this day, with the anniversary of our National Human Rights, Democracy and Thanksgiving Day, gives us opportunity once again, to reflect on the journey since May 29, 1999, which marked the end of 15 years of undemocratic military rule.

We can all recall how the entire nation breathed a sigh of .relief when we greeted the new dawn with a collective cry of "never again!"

As the in-coming administration, we were fully conscious of the high expectations by which the rot would immediately be put to an end, our infrastructure would resurrect from its ruins, and our comatose public services would function again.

The Nigerian society was free to dream of a social organisation that would be free of rampant corruption and pervasive indiscipline. The citizens dreamt of a restoration of social values and the reinstatement of self-pride. Most of all, the feeling of despair and trauma had been such that 29th May, 1999 was perceived by many as virtually the last opportunity to rescue the nation from the edge of a precipice of demise.

In answering the challenge, we declared, without intending to dampen people’s expectations, that it be borne in mind that we did not possess a magic wand with which we could achieve instant transformation.

In answering the call to service, our fundamental assumption was that Nigeria can indeed be saved and that it must be saved by Nigerians themselves for whom this country is the only country they can call their own. Personally, I saw the retrogression as a failure of leadership and I was emboldened by my earlier experience whereby we had left legacies of what is achievable under good leadership.

Four years ago, we had no illusions that it would be easy to put right in a few years the destruction of two decades, but we did not allow the enormity of the task to force us into a retreat. Instead we took it on as a challenge and duty for the kind of leadership we believe can save Nigeria.

Mindful of the hopes and aspirations that Nigerians had in our vision for the country, our first strategy was to itemise the content of that vision into concrete steps for progressive action. The overriding consideration was that our social system desperately needed to be rationalised and made wholesome. We identified as imperative, the need