President Mohammadu Buhari has said those who looted the nations treasury
are using the Niger Delta Militants against his Government.
He said Nigeria is now in recession because for 16 years of the Government
of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, no savings were made neither was any
infrastructure built.
Buhari spoke at a town hall meeting with selected Nigerian Professionals
in New York.
Nigerians whom Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Diaspora Matters and International Relations, described as
“15 of the best people God ever created.”
The professionals were in New York to meet with the Nigerian President.
Top flight aeronautics engineers, physicians, I.T experts, a Judge, a top
policewoman, entrepreneurs, an Import Specialist at Customs and Border
Protection, professors, two straight A students, and many others.
“I am very pleased with this meeting,” President Buhari stated. “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 South eat
tubers, those in the North eat grains, which they plant, and those
constitute over 60 per cent 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 of 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 sort of caliphate,
and planting their flags there; 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. And they would then shout Allahu
Akbar. But if they truly knew Allah, they would not do such evil. Neither
Islam, nor any other religion I know of, 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 Niger Delta, 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 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.”