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Nigeria: Muhammadu Buhari sworn in as President
A 21-gun salute boomed during the handover of power which is a turning point in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.
The newly elected administration “is basking in a reservoir of good will and high expectations,” Buhari said, promising to take advantage of it. “Nigeria has a window of opportunity to fulfill our mission as our great nation.”
Buhari thanked the leaders of neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger for contributing to a multinational offensive that this year has driven Boko Haram from towns where it had declared an Islamic caliphate.
Suicide bombings and hit-and-run attacks continue by what he called “a mindless, godless group” pursuing an uprising that has killed more than 13,000 people and driven more than 1.5 million from their homes.
As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Buhari said “the command center will be relegated to me and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued.”
Political science professor Richard Joseph of Northwestern University said Buhari’s victory has hopeful international implications.
“The world desperately needs a victory against cultist jihadism. Nigeria (under Buhari) can provide it,” he wrote in a blog.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press
