President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said despite the criticisms of
many, he would continue to blame his predecessors for Nigeria’s woes.
He said passing the buck, which people have been frowning at, was
important in order for Nigerians to know what went wrong with the country.
Buhari spoke at an event tagged, “The Conversation: An evening with
creative youths,” held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential
Villa, Abuja.
The event, attended also by the President’s wife, Aisha; Vice-President
Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo; as well as governors and other top
government officials, had “Creative youth as drivers of the change agenda”
as its theme.
Buhari said, “I am going to bore you with what we met. I know that I am
being accused in the papers of passing the buck, but passing the buck is
sometimes absolutely necessary to remind people who take things for
granted.
“When we came in, I screamed to high heavens because I had promised a lot
while seeking votes.
“I said where is the saving? There was no saving. There was no
infrastructure, power, rails, roads, there was none. What did we spend the
money on? I was told buying food and petrol.
“Where were the billions going? We conducted a study and found out that
the oil marketers were committing fraud on at least one third of what
they were importing, which is about 25 per cent of our foreign exchange.
”The youth must watch our elite, especially with the condition we found
ourselves. It is unpatriotic for anybody to pretend that economically we
have no problem.
“I have bored you with this long explanation because there are things that
could be hidden from you by those that have mismanaged the country in the
last 16, 17 years.”
The President therefore tasked Nigerian youths to be alive to their
responsibilities of holding their leaders and the elite accountable.
Punch