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“Nigeria Failed To Harness Massive Biafra Technological Inventions” – Garba Shehu

Published

8 years ago

August 15, 2016

The presidency has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to inventing a new and prosperous Nigeria despite the current economic meltdown in the country. It also described as unfair the flood of criticisms which it said had greeted the government in recent times. The presidency spoke through an article by the senior special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, “In Defence of President Buhari: Is This The Change We Voted For? Yes, It Is!” He said that Buhari’s critics had already forgotten the ruinous years of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

He said “When they ask the question, is this the change we voted for, the critic forgets how far we have come from the scam-tainted years of the PDP rule. “Unfair criticism of the Buhari administration especially on account of escalating prices of foodstuff and the liberalization of the currency exchange needs to be challenged before it overshadows the commendable job the President has done in fighting terrorism as part of overall effort to secure the country, reducing corruption and yes, arresting the economic slide before it sinks the nation.”

The presidential media adviser regretted that president Buhari has not had it so good with prices of crude as was the case when he was the Head of State. He however believed that with the efforts of the president, coming months would herald goodness for the country. “In addition to hard work, all leaders need luck on their side to create what is sometimes seen as economic miracles. As leader, President Buhari never had the luxury of high oil prices as did his predecessors in office. “When he first emerged as the military Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari saw oil price, the mainstay of the nation’s economy sank to as low eight Dollars a barrel. “He rolled up his sleeves, worked on diversification strategy of the economy only to be eased out of power just as they began to take hold.

Thereafter, his successors abandoned these efforts. “On his second coming, this time as a democratically elected leader, the collapse of oil prices has challenged President Buhari to quicken efforts towards the diversification of the economy with emphasis given to agriculture and solid minerals mining. “Every crisis, it is said, is an opportunity. Not so in Nigeria.

This is a country that inherited massive technological inventions from Biafra, yet failed to take it forward. We must not lose this opportunity to diversify the economy and our foreign earnings presented by the present oil crisis.

“As the country hopes for a bumper harvest this year, government is taking steps to ensure that no farmer will sell at a loss or fail to find markets for their harvests. Grain silos are being readied nationwide to receive excess produce for warehousing to ensure food security, avert market glut and price collapse. By this, government will ensure a minimum guaranteed price”, Shehu stressed.