President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday urged Nigerians to resist the tendency of blaming leaders only for the country’s state of affairs.

The Nigerian leader, who has lately been criticised for his alleged shoddy handling of the nation’s affairs, said the change desired in the country “starts with individuals.”

Mr Buhari said this in an address he delivered at the graduation of Senior Course 40 of Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State.

Buhari said, “The change we desire in Nigeria actually starts with us as individuals. In Nigeria, there is the tendency to lay the blame for the state of affairs in the country on the doorsteps of leaders alone.

“Yes, leaders have a major role to play in providing direction and the enabling environment. However, the citizens’ role also is vital in attaining meaningful transformation of any society.”

The President assured Nigerians of his administration’s effort to return the country to the path of peace and prosperity.

He recalled that at the inception of his administration, he made three key promises to Nigerians -to address the various security challenges facing the country, reposition the economy and fight corruption.

On security challenges which he said abounded in all countries of the world, Buhari said he was certain that with the consistent efforts of security agencies, the challenges would be considerably minimised.

He told the graduating officers to realise that the nation had invested a lot in their training, hence the country expected the best from them in terms of commitment to their duties and fatherland.

“The highest standard of competence and professionalism is expected of you considering the level of training you have received through this course.

“Go out there and make your honest contributions to the discharge of the constitutional responsibilities of Armed Forces of Nigeria and be good ambassadors of Armed Forces Command and Staff College,” the President said.

Buhari noted that the numerous security challenges facing the world today were trans-border in nature, involving actors in different sub-regions and regions.

The West African sub-region and indeed the African continent, he said, were not immune to the negative impacts of globalisation.

Buhari said to effectively combat prevalent security threats, there was need for African countries to continue to work together at all levels including operational and tactical levels.

He recalled that armed forces of Nigeria, Cameroun, Niger Republic and Chad are in a multinational operation to combat Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin region.

Punch