President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed corrupt politicians who looted Nigeria’s treasury for the bombing of oil facilities in the Niger Delta region.
The President made the accusation in a statement by his spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, released after President Buhari briefed Nigerians in the U.S. on “how the country got into trouble”.
He said that the development was unfortunate due to the fact that the price of crude oil had dropped drastically.
President Buhari expressed disappointment that a minimum of 27 states, out of 36 states in Nigeria were unable to pay worker’s salaries.
“We Did Not Save”
“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 salary,” he said.
On what led to Nigeria’s economic recession, President Buhari said: “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 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.
“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 utilise them. I will like to welcome you home when it’s time. But I’ll like you to be ready,” the President told the gathering.
‘Working On Government Structure’
President Buhari further told them that his administration was working on a government structure that would effectively engage their skills and expertise.
He agreed that distinguished Nigerians in the diaspora had a role to play in Nigeria’s development, promising to provide a conducive environment for them to thrive.
“I assure you that we are trying to be systematic in the government to organise the government properly.
“When we do that, we will get the ministries to function and we will need quality people to come along and help it to move fast,” President Buhari told the gathering.
All the Nigerian professionals pledged to contribute their quota towards re-launching their fatherland to a new dawn.
They assured the President of their support and willingness to come and offer their services to Nigeria like they do in the U.S.
For some of the professionals at the meeting there is no better time to return home than now.
“The determination to have structure in place, I think it will be encouraging for some of us in the diaspora to come back and participate because that is the structure we know here that we are used to,” one of those at the meeting said.
There are many Nigerian professional in the United States and around the world and leveraging on their expertise would be a boost for the nation in economic recession.
