By Toye Olori
LAGOS, May 29 1999 (IPS)

Olusegun Obasanjo was Saturday sworn-in as President by Chief Justice, Muhamed Lawal Uwais, at a colourful ceremony in the capital Abuja.

Obasanjo, 62, took the oath of office at the Eagle Square amid repeated interruptions by exited supporters who sang: “Ose Ose o, Ose o Ose Baba. Thank you, thank you father,” a popular song which has become the people’s national anthem whenever the Nigerian soccer teams win.

The handing-over ceremony began Friday with the arrival of heads of states and representatives from 42 countries and the Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who were hosted at a dinner by Nigeria’s outgoing military leader, General Abdulsalaam Abubakar.

In his farewell speech Saturday, Gen. Abubakar said after 15 years of military rule, Nigeria, at last, has a chance to start afresh.

He thanked all those who participated in the transition programme, which began in June last year, and said he hoped that all future elections would be successful. “It is a duty our politicians owe to this nation,” he said.

Abubakar also thanked “foreign friends, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the whole world which stood by Nigeria” during the transitional period.

Abubakar said he hoped Obasanjo’s government “would usher in a new, united and democratic Nigeria that will be a pride to all, and takes its rightful place in the community of nations”.

Abubakar, who is retiring to his village in Minna, central Nigeria, thanked members of the military who he said were committed to return to the barracks.

In his inaugural speech, Gen. Obasanjo noted that: “Twelve months ago (before the death of the dictator Sani Abacha), no one could have predicted the series of events that made it possible for election.”

“You fellow Nigerians elected me, a man, who had walked through the shadow of death. I accept this destiny,” he said.

Obasanjo, who ruled Africa’s most populous nation between 1976-1979, paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the course of the struggle for democracy and liberty in Nigeria. “We thank them for their sacrifices,” he said, adding that, “their sacrifices will not be in vain.”

Obasanjo said his administration would implement measures aimed at restoring confidence in governance. He listed a number of projects which, he said, he would tackle within the first six months of his administration.

These include reducing the rate of crime, finding a solution to the unrests in the oil-producing areas, growing more food, maintaining law and order with particular reference to armed robbery, and eliminating the culture of corruption in public offices.

He also promised to tackle Nigeria’s foreign debt, estimated at more than 30 billion US Dollars, drug trafficking and organised crime, and fraud, which he said had dented the country’s image abroad.

Revamping the economy will also be the new administration’s task. “Nigeria is wonderfully endowed by God with human and natural resources. It does no credit to us as Nigerians and the Black race to fail in the management of our resources,” Obasanjo said.

He said Nigeria’s ailing National Electric Power Authority, the railways, the telecommunications, and housing schemes, which have been allowed to decay in the past 15 years, would all be revived.

“I am not a miracle worker, it will be foolish to underrate the task ahead. Alone, I can do little. I am therefore asking Nigerians to make sacrifices and exercise patience.”

“All impacts of bad governance in the past will be removed. Corruption will be tackled headon at all levels. It must not be condoned. Beneficiaries of corruption will fight back, but we shall be firm with them. There will not be any sacred cows in our crusade against corruption,” he said.

Obasanjo also said he would keep an eye on his cabinet to reduce excesses. “Appointment to cabinet is not a licence to loot the treasury, it should be a call for service. There will not be conflict of interests, abuse of office or personal enrichment. A code of conduct will be introduced also for public officers and ministers,” he added.

On regional security, Obasanjo said Nigeria’s national interest require that peace is maintained in the sub-region. He said a peaceful solution, through dialogue, would be found to the conflict in Sierra Leone, where Nigeria has deployed more than 10,000 troops to prop up the beleagured civilian government of President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah against rebel forces.

During the ceremony, most residents of this sprawling commercial capital kept in doors for fear of a possible unrest following rumours that the military would not hand over power to Obasanjo. There were demonstrations in parts of Lagos two weeks ago following rumours that Obasanjo had been murdered.

One resident of Lagos described Obasanjo’s inauguration Saturday as a “liberation” for Nigeria’s 110 million people.

“This is a liberation for us all. I expect good governance especially with the programmes the President promised Nigerians today. Though we are not expecting miracles to happen within a short time, with patience, things should work out for us,” said businessman, Otumba Ajibogun.

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