PRESIDENT Muham-madu
Buhari has lamented that the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta region
was orchestrated by those who looted Nigeria’s wealth in order to frustrate his
efforts at rebuilding the country.
He also regretted that
the present socio economic crisis would have been avoided if the country had
saved its oil revenue from 1999-2015 when oil prices stood at an average of
$100 per barrel. Buhari further took stock of the burden of responsibility the
present times placed on him and submitted that, however, he would not complain,
having prayed to God for the job.
He made these known at an interactive session in New York with a 15-man group of Nigerian professionals which comprised of top-flight aeronautics engineers, physicians, Information Technology experts, a judge, top policewoman, entrepreneurs, an import specialist at Customs and Border Protection, professors and two straight-A students among others. A statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adeshina said the forum was a platform for Buhari to update the diasporans on his efforts so far at getting the country back on its feet soon.
The statement quoted the
President to have said: ‘’I am very pleased with this meeting. Wherever you go
in the world, you find highly competent and outstanding Nigerians.
They not
only make great impact on their host countries and communities, their financial
remittances back home also help our economy, particularly at a time like this,
when things are down.
We got into trouble as a
country, because we did not save for the rainy day. For example, between 1999
and 2015, when we produced an average of 2.1 million barrels of oil per day,
and oil prices stood at an average of $100 per barrel, we did not save, neither
did we develop infrastructure.
Suddenly, when we came
in 2015, oil prices fell to about 30 dollars per barrel. “I asked, where are
the savings? There were none. Where are the railways? The roads? Power? None. I
further asked, what did we do with billions of dollars that we made over the
years? They said we bought food. Food with billions of dollars? I did not
believe, and still, do not believe. “In most parts of Nigeria, we eat what we
grow. People in the Bifara South east eat tubers, those in the Northern Nigeria
eat grains, which they plant, and they constitute over 60 percent of what we
eat. So, where did the billions of dollars go?
We did a lot of damage
to ourselves by not developing infrastructure when we had the money. “Talking
about our military, they earned respect serving in places like Burma, Zaire,
Sudan, Liberia, Sierra-Leone, and then, suddenly, that same military could no
longer secure 14 out of 774 local governments in the country. Insurgents had
seized them, calling them some sorts of caliphate, and planting
their flags till we came, and scattered them. “We raised the morale of our
military, changed the leadership, re-equipped and retrained them. USA, Britain,
and some other countries helped us, and today, the pride of our military is
restored.
Boko Haram ran riot,
killing innocent people in churches, mosques, markets, schools, motor parks,
and so on. But if they truly knew Allah, they would not do such evil. Neither
Islam nor any other religion I know advocates hurting the innocent.
But they shed innocent
blood, killed people in their thousands. Now, we have dealt with that
insurgency and subverted their recruitment base.
Those who stole Nigeria
dry are not happy. They recruited the militants against us in the Biafra and
began to sabotage oil infrastructure. We lose millions of barrels per day, at a
time when every dollar we can earn, counts. It is a disgrace that a minimum of
27 states, out of 36 that we have in Nigeria, can’t pay salaries.
But I prayed so hard for God to make me President. I ran in 2003, 2007, 2011, and in 2015, He did. And see what I met on ground. But I can’t complain since I prayed for the job. In the military, I rose from 2nd Lieutenant to Major-General. I was a military governor in 1975 over a state that is now six states. I was Head of State, got detained for three years, and headed the Petroleum Trust Fund ,PTF, which had N53 billion of that time in Nigerian banks. “God has been very good to me, so I can’t complain. If I feel hurt by anybody, I ask God to help me forgive. He has done so much for me. “After 16 years of a different party in government, no party will come and have things easy. It’s human. We need quality hands to run Nigeria, and we will utilize them. I will like to welcome you home when it’s time. But I’ll like you to be ready.” The Nigerian professionals also pledged to contribute their quota towards fixing their fatherland.

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