President Muhammadu Buhari said Nigeria is disorganised because it relied for too long on mono-economic product, oil.
He was speaking at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday while receiving a three-man team of British members of Parliament led by Honourable Chi Onwurah. Also on the delegation was the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Paul Arkwright.
President Buhari said now with the fall in oil price, Nigeria had to go back to agriculture and solid minerals.
“Nigeria has found herself in a phase of development which is not a very welcome one. We are disorganized because we relied on mono-economic product for too long, and now that oil price is down, we have to go back to agriculture and solid minerals,” he said.
“Tin, columbite, cocoa, groundnut, and others, used to be the basis of our economy, but then, oil came, and everybody began to look for cheap money. Now, we need to start all over again,” the president lamented.
He noted that Nigeria, in her rebuilding process, expected a lot from Britain owing to the affinity shared by both countries.
Earlier, Onwurah had told Buhari that her team visited the country to promote positive engagement between Nigeria and the United Kingdom “since we are stronger when we build on ties of the past.”
The Nigerian-born MP for Newcastle added that her team was interested in how the Diaspora could support the economic progress of Nigeria as well as the promotion of trade and diversification of the nation’s economy. Daily Trust
