…Says those who lay foundation for Nigeria’s challenges are the ones accusing Buhari.
The presidency yesterday said that the country is on its road to greatness contrary to claims by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
In a press statement signed by his special assistant on media,Segun Adeyemi,Information minister,Lai Mohammed said the President Muhammad Buharis government has been busy since it assumed office taking steps to prevent the country becoming a failed state which it inherited in 2015.
In apparent response to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, address to a consultative meeting of Middle Belt,South West,South South and South east leaders in Abuja Friday, Mohammed said President Buhari inherited a rudderless and rapacious leadership from a regime when a swathe of the country is under occupation including the federal capital territory which it said was almost taking over by insurgents and when the country’s wealth have been looted with nothing to show for the nations huge earnings especially with a comatose infrastructure.
Said he,” it is therefore a cruel irony that those who frittered away a
great opportunity to put Nigeria on a sound socio-economic footing, at
a time of financial buoyancy, and those who planted the seed of the
insecurity in some parts of the country today, are the same ones
pointing an accusing finger at a reformist government.”.
”Nigeria today faces a lot of challenges. But whatever situation the
country has found itself in, things would have been much worse but for
the deft management of resources, unprecedented fight against
corruption, determined battle against insurgency and banditry as well
as the abiding courage of Mr. President in piloting the ship of state,
”Nigeria today is not a failed state, but a nation that is
courageously tackling its challenges and building a solid
infra struck use that will serve as the basis for socio-economic
development, a nation that is unrelenting in battling insecurity and
working hard to ensure greatest prosperity for the greatest number of
people,” Alhaji Mohammed said.
He said no government in the history of the country has done so much
with so little, as the Buhari Administration is doing presently,
adding that with 60% less national income, the Administration is
making progress on all fronts and setting the country on the path of
sustainable growth and development.
The Minister said while naysayers are hyping the instances of
insecurity in the country, they have conveniently forgotten that the
country could have been overrun by insurgents and bandits if President
Buhari had not rallied regional and international allies to tackle,
headlong, the Boko Haram insurgency that saw bombs going off like
firecrackers before his assumption of office, and an estimated 20,000 square
miles of the nation’s territory occupied by insurgents
”They tout the downturn in economic fortunes without putting things
in context. With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing a global shutdown and a
drastic fall in global oil demand, Nigeria lost 60% of its earnings,
yet the Administration has ensured that not a single worker has been
retrenched, has paid salaries as and when due and has continued to
build infrastructures like roads, rails, bridges and power, among
others, that will serve many generations.
”They aggravate the national fault lines with their angry and
unguarded actions and rhetoric, forgetting that while national
fissures are amplified at a time of dwindling economic fortunes, what
is needed to foster peace and unity is not reckless elocution but
responsible and responsive leadership, the kind being offered by
President Buhari,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said Nigeria is on the road to greatness, despite the
challenges confronting the nation, citing the hard push towards food
sufficiency; the modernization of the rail system; the nationwide
construction of roads and bridges; the reform in the oil and gas
sector; the unprecedented anti-corruption battle, the diversification
of the economy and the renewed effort to ensure a steady power supply,
anchored on a three-phase project that is expected to deliver 25,000MW
of electricity in the next few years.
The Minister thanked Nigerians for their perseverance and
understanding, especially against the backdrop of the stifling effects
of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, and appealed to them to
continue to support the Administration, as it seeks to lift 100
million people out of poverty in the next 10 years.
”In one of the most difficult moments in the nation’s history,
Nigeria is fortunate to have at the helm a leader who is not only
dedicated, selfless and patriotic, but one who is globally
acknowledged for his discipline, integrity and vision. Those who
genuinely love Nigeria will support, rather than subvert, this
committed leadership,” he said.
Segun Adeyemi
Special Assistant To The President (Media)
Office of The Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja
13 Sept. 2020
