PROTOCOLS:
I welcome you all to this important occasion of the launching of the

National Re-orientation Campaign, called ‘Change Begins With Me’.

Nigeria today is passing through a challenging moment where hardly

anything works in a normal manner. Many have attributed this

phenomenon to the total breakdown of our core values over the years.
2.     It is safe to say today that honesty, hard work, Godliness have

given way to all kinds of manifestations of lawlessness and

degeneration in our national life. This is why we have among our

cardinal objectives ‘change’, which implies the need for a change of

attitude and mindset in our everyday life.

3     I need not mention the serious effort we have engaged in since

the inception of this administration on the fight against corruption

in our public life. With the progress we have so far made in that

regard, we feel the need to ensure that we   put in place the

necessary sustainable framework for action and measures that will help

to entrench and consolidate the progress achieved so far.

4.   This we believe can best be maintained through attitudinal

change, and the change of our mindset in private and public life.

The campaign we are about to launch today is all about the need for us

to see change not merely in terms of our economic, social progress but

in terms of our personal behaviour on how we conduct ourselves, engage

our neigbhours, friends and generally how we relate with the larger

society in a positive and definitive way and manner that promotes our

common good and common destiny, change at home, change in the work

place, change at traffic junction, change at traffic lights etc.

5.   This campaign is part of the determination of our party to seek

to carry all Nigerians along on the journey to a better and greater

society that we all can be proud of.
6.   There is no doubt that our value system has been badly eroded

over the years. The long-cherished and time honoured, time-tested

virtues of honesty, integrity, hard work, punctuality, good

neighbourliness, abhorrence of corruption and patriotism, have given

way in the main to dishonesty, indolence, unbridled corruption and

widespread impunity.

7.   The resultant effect of this derailment in our value system is

being felt in the social, political and economic sphere. It is the

reason that some youths will take to cultism and brigandage instead of

studying hard or engaging in decent living; it is the reason that some

elements will break pipelines and other oil facilities, thus robbing

the nation of much-needed resources; it is the reason that money

belonging to our commonwealth will be brazenly stolen by the same

public officials to whom they were entrusted; it is the reason why

motorist drive through red traffic lights, it is the reason that many

will engage in thuggery and vote-stealing during elections;  it is

part of what has driven our economy into deep problem out of which we

are now working hard to extricate ourselves. Every one of us must have

a change from our old ways of doing things, we cannot fold our arms

and allow things to continue the old way.

8.    We must resist the temptation to fall back on the same

partisanship, pettiness and immaturity that have poisoned our country

for so long. Let us summon a new spirit of responsibility, spirit of

service, of patriotism and sacrifice, Let us all resolve to pitch in

and work hard and look after, not only ourselves but one another, What

the current problem has taught us is that we cannot have a thriving

army of rent seekers and vested interests, while the majority suffers.

9.   Rather than sit back and complain endlessly, we have decided to

act pragmatically, with the launch of this National Re-orientation

Campaign. The campaign will not be a sprint but a marathon that will

run the course of our tenure. We are under no illusion that the

changes we seek will happen overnight, but we have no doubt that the

campaign will help restore our value system and rekindle our

nationalistic fervor
10.   I am therefore appealing to all Nigerians to be part of this

campaign. Our citizens must realize that the change they want to see

begins with them, and that personal and social reforms are not

theoretic exercise. If you have not seen the change in you, you cannot

see it in others or even the larger society. In other words, before

you ask ‘where is the change they promised us’, you must first ask how

far have I changed my ways ‘what have I done to be part of the change

for the greater good of society’.

11.   While the government will drive the Change Begins With Me’

campaign, it must be strongly supported by all concerned individually.

In this regard the private sector is a major stakeholder. Indeed when

the campaign succeeds, it will impact heavily on the private sector. A

punctual, diligent and hardworking staff can only be of benefit of not

just himself or herself or the organization they work for but to

various governments whether at local, state or Federal level.

12.   While congratulating the stakeholders, especially Ministry of

Information and Culture and the National Orientation Agency for

conceiving this campaign, I charge all to pursue the campaign with

vigour and ensure its sustenance by taking it to all the nook and

crannies of this country, with the aim of getting the buy in of the

old, the young, the rich, the poor irrespective of gender or other

social positions.

13.  Your Excellencies, Honourable Ministers, Members of the National

Assembly, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now my pleasure to formally

launch and handover the instrument of the Change Campaign tagged

Change Begins With Me to the Honourable Minister for Information and

Culture, for transmission to all Nigerians and friends of Nigeria.

Indeed I say to the glory of Mighty Allah, “Change Begins With Me”
14. Thank you all for your kind attention