‘We won’t doze off again’ — Buhari vows to ensure rapid economic growth
President Muhammadu Buhari says his administration will speed up efforts to ensure rapid economic growth in the country.
Speaking on Tuesday at a meeting with the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) in Abuja, Buhari said the administration’s policy of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty is a deliberate effort that will be pursued with determination.
In a statement by Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, after the council’s meeting which was also attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Buhari said the country requires a poverty reduction strategy that will usher in “rapid, sustained, sustainable and inclusive economic growth”.
“I was shocked, hearing from you that of the vast agricultural land resources available to the nation, only two percent of it is under irrigation,” Buhari said.
“We will make the best use of the land. Thank you for shaking us up. We are now awake; we will not doze off again. We didn’t just bump into this; we believe it is something we can deliver on.”
During his presentation, Doyin Salami, PEAC chairman, welcomed the country’s exit from recession, but cautioned that the strength of the economic growth must be driven in a way that it will overtake population growth.
“Poverty is not only the lack of cash; it is defined by lack of access to shelter, health, education and jobs which must all be addressed,” he said.
“We are consolidating on the achievements of the past and avoiding past mistakes; it is the first time that everyone is coming on board – federal government, states, the private sector, development partners and the civil society. Poverty reduction must not be left to the federal government alone; it is everybody’s responsibility.”
The economy or the security quagmire, which one is the top priority here? What’s the meaning wealth without security of life? It’s only the living that enjoys wealth
The following remark is directed to the current President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigera, Retired General Muhammadu Buhari: HOGWASH!
So, you acknowledge that you have been sleeping, eh? No! You have not merely been sleeping. The word is correctly spelled: “scheming.” Even now, you are busy scheming to distract us with baseless talk of agricultural development, when whatever agricultural reform or project you propose without first tackling the security situation arising from your murderous Fulani herdsmen brethren’s continued terrorism and invasion of Nigeria, will amount to nothing but an insult on our intelligence!
Seriously, who do you, as an individual take yourself to be? Our god? Our slave owner? Are we your chattel? Your cattle? Remember, you are just another human being, who just happened to be elected into this position.
You owe us and all of posterity a duty to fulfill your oath of office. Unfortunately, you appear (whether wittingly or unwittingly hardly matters) to have done everything in your power to do the opposite of what that oath of office demands of you. Your talk of economic progress has zero meaning if not predicated on serious discussion of our security situation AND the need to restructure this nation.
You may be president, but that does not mean that you alone know what is best for our country. All across the country, people from all walks of life are asking you to pursue restructuring, but you have stubbornly turned a deaf ear. They have said to you, “protect us,” and you have failed to do so. They have said, “stop killing us for demanding and attempting to enforce our very own security,” but you have continued to kill the people.
“Killing the people, having the fun. They just want to be the leaders, in the house of the rising sun.” How prescient are the words of that great Jamaican musician!
Mr. President, just so you know, things are an hundred-fold worse in Nigeria than your “advisors” may be telling you. Most people are understandably afraid to tell you the truth as it is, because your “security” apparatus will promptly pick them up and likely disappear them. Luckily, some people from Nigeria still have the guts and the sense of relative safety in distance, to tell you what they really think of your administration. If you wish, continue to listen only to those sycophants who praise your mistakes and frustrate your best intentions.
I would want you to succeed in all your good plans for Nigeria, but the bottleneck is security challenges, and it is a very long bottleneck, indeed. It has stretched to include issues of minimal patriotic fervour, minimal sense of unity and cohesion, minimal trust in anything coming out of your presidency, and a strong conviction that instead of a Federal Republic of Nigeria, we now have a Fulani Republic of Nigeria.
Focus on addressing these issues, first, or whatever else you say or do, will be futile! History will prove who is right and who is wrong. I have spoken my mind in good faith. Will you also act in good faith? May we all have peace, but let Heaven look askance at those who look away from their duty to bring peace and security to our land!