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5:41 AM
GREEN PROJECT CONCEPT & SERVICES
Those who looted Nigeria’s treasury in the
past are behind the militants in the Niger
Delta region, says President Muhammadu
Buihari.
President Buhari said past looters of the
treasury are behind the resurgence of
militancy in the Niger Delta region, stressing
that they are the reasons the nation is
battling recession.
According to him: “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.
In a statement by his special adviser media,
Femi Adesina, President Buhari was speaking
to top rate Nigerian professionals based in
the United States of America, 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.
The parley provided President Buhari
opportunity to bring them up to speed on how
and why Nigeria got into trouble, with an
assurance that with all hands on deck,
including the best brains in the Diaspora, the
country would bounce back in the shortest
possible time.
“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.”
“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.”
All the Nigerian professionals pledged to
contribute their quota towards re-launching
their fatherland to a new dawn.
past are behind the militants in the Niger
Delta region, says President Muhammadu
Buihari.
President Buhari said past looters of the
treasury are behind the resurgence of
militancy in the Niger Delta region, stressing
that they are the reasons the nation is
battling recession.
According to him: “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.
In a statement by his special adviser media,
Femi Adesina, President Buhari was speaking
to top rate Nigerian professionals based in
the United States of America, 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.
The parley provided President Buhari
opportunity to bring them up to speed on how
and why Nigeria got into trouble, with an
assurance that with all hands on deck,
including the best brains in the Diaspora, the
country would bounce back in the shortest
possible time.
“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.”
“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.”
All the Nigerian professionals pledged to
contribute their quota towards re-launching
their fatherland to a new dawn.
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