Buhari, who was welcoming participants to a meeting of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) which plans to grow into a party, said although Yar’Adua is ill, Nigerians have the right to discuss succession and the future of the nation.
Gen. Buhari said: "We are meeting at a time when the nation is in a sombre mood, considering the ill-health of President Yar’Adua.
"We must all commiserate with his family and people of this country and pray to Allah, the Most Compassionate and the Most Merciful, to grant him quick recovery and good health.
"We also pray that a greater sense of responsibility will prevail so that serious issues will not continue to be trivialised or politicised at the expense of the nation.
"Naturally, these circumstances raise the issue of succession; unfortunately, the debate was beclouded by personalisation of the matter.
"We urge Nigerians to concentrate their attention on the constitutional provisions regarding succession. Indeed, Nigerians have the right to discuss and express their opinions on this issue as it touches on the future of their country.
"Expectedly, this cannot but have negative consequences on governance, and it is the ordinary people who will continue to bear the brunt of these failings."
Gen. Buhari decried poor service delivery and urged Nigerians not to fold their hands.
He added: "Indeed, the deterioration registered in just the last six weeks is very frightening. In Anambra, not only is the constitution flouted, court orders are ignored with impunity.
"In Oke-Oka, Ondo State, a Senator caught red-handed, stealing people’s votes, is bound to enjoy all the protection that those before him have.
"Wherever you go, wherever you look, it is the same sad old story of failure of service delivery and disrespect for laws and processes and state protection for those who violate them.
"We must begin to realise what we are up against; these are clear indications of collapsing institutions.
"For when institutions cannot deliver the services for which they are established to deliver and when they become a stumbling block to change, then citizens cannot stand by and complain. They have to rise to the challenge."
The former Head of State pleaded with Nigerians to unite and rescue the nation from the grip of "death".
He said the task at hand is beyond reforms and pleaded with Nigerians to treat those who do not believe in electoral laws and processes as traitors.
Gen. Buhari said: "To be sure, the challenge is beyond reforms; for, when institutions collapse, the law, no matter how good, is no remedy.
"The ultimate reform is the reform of our attitudes and frame of minds. We must believe in the sanctity of our laws and processes, particularly the sanctity of the electoral processes.
"Nigerians must realise that those who don’t believe in the electoral laws and processes must be treated as traitors who must never be trusted with public office or any responsibility.
"Those of us who are sufficiently worried about these breaches and their consequences on our nation have an obligation to come together, stay together, work together to wrest this great country from the grip of death, as it were."
Gen. Buhari decried the poverty challenge facing the nation and claimed that it underscored why Nigerians cannot fold their hands.
He said: "Only yesterday, the media reported the latest UNDP report, which said, ‘despite its vast resources, Nigeria ranks among the most unequal countries in the world’. The poverty problem in the country is partly a feature of high inequality which manifests in highly unequal income distribution and differential access to basic infrastructure, education and job opportunities.
"What this report is saying is something that many of us see everyday and it is precisely why we can’t fold our hands and watch while the poor continue to suffer, for this in itself raises our crime rates and undermines democracy."
On the prospect of NDM, he urged members to brace up for the struggle ahead.
Gen. Buhari added: "Let it be made clear that the NDM is not going to be a tea party; it is going to be a platform for unprecedented struggle, just as the deterioration has been unprecedented.
"We must specifically urge everyone of you to muster the courage, the stamina and the staying power to see this project through.
"We also must call on Nigerians to wake up to the fact that those who are the architects of this mess and its greatest beneficiaries are not going to give up easily; they will resist with all the weapons at their disposal.
"But this has always been the path of change throughout human history. Those struggling to free themselves from the shackles of oppression and bad governance should have nothing to fear, for, ultimately, it is always the truth that ultimately triumphs."
He said yesterday’s meeting was designed to propose the establishment of a steering committee to enhance the day-to-day running of the NDM.
"One other important assignment at this meeting today will be the formation of the two committees; one on ‘Contact and Mobilisation’ and the other on ‘Strategy and Programmes’.
"It is our plea that people so elected should endeavour to give their time, their energy and their talents to rescue this country from the precipice.
"This country has never been in need of our sacrifices like today; we must give our country the best. Our people have suffered for too long; they certainly deserve our best."
The meeting was attended by the three initiators of the NDM - Buhari, ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Governor Attahiru Bafarawa – as well as many notable politicians across the parties.
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