President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said in view of the current economic profile of Nigeria, it was erroneous to describe the republic as a rich country.
Buhari stated this at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja while receiving the outgoing president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Donald Kaberuka and other officials of the bank.
President Buhari emphasised that the Nigeria’s social services had to be seriously rehabilitated as the nation needed urgent attention on such sectors as education and health in all parts of the country.
“An impression has been erroneously created that we are a rich country, but looking at the economic profile of the country today, you will see that, that is not necessarily the case.
“Our social services have to be seriously rehabilitated. We need urgent attention on areas like education and health services, not only in the north eastern part of the country, but all round the country.
“We will fall back on institutions like the AfDB for support in generating employment. We have vast potentials in the agricultural sector that can be explored to create more jobs. We also have small businesses that need funds for expansion”, Buhari told the AfDB team.
President Buhari called on the Nigeria’s elite to be prepared to contribute more meaningfully towards helping the nation surmount her current challenges.
According to the president, privileged and influential Nigerians clearly have to do more now than in the past to help the nation deal successfully with her economic and security problems.
He said with the effects of the declining global oil prices coupled with lack of revenue and insecurity, the nation’s elite must be ready to give the right guidance in their respective communities and lead the economy on the right path.
“With the shock of falling oil prices, lack of revenues and insecurity, the Nigerian elites must now wake up and provide the right guidance in their communities, and also lead the economy on the right path more than they used to do”, Buhari stated.
The president said his government would welcome more support from the Afican Development Bank for projects in such a versatile sector as agriculture which, he noted, could easily be explored to create more jobs for unemployed Nigerians.
Earlier, Kaberuka had disclosed to Buhari that such development institutions as the World Bank, the German Development Bank and the European Development Bank had already indicated their readiness to provide long-term loan facilities to small businesses in Nigeria.
The outgoing president of the African Development Bank also assured President Buhari that the AfDB would always support economic projects in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s immediate past Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Akinwunmi Adesina will replace Kaberuka as AfDB president next month.
The AfDB currently has a strong capital base of $4.8 billion.
