FOR THE RECORD: Buhari – There’re Big Challenges, Tough Choices

President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria is currently experiencing monumental challenges that mean tough choices have to be made. Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the opening of the 21st Nigerian Economic Summit (NES), Buhari said there were also “incredible opportunities for achieving competitiveness”.

He was represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

“We are at a time of monumental challenges and tough choices, but also a time of incredible opportunities for achieving competitiveness, inclusive growth and sustainability”, Buhari said. We, as a government, are called upon to make tough choices in exchange for control restrictions, altering the absurd recurrent-to-capital expenditure ratio, reducing the deficit and reducing the overall size of governance. We are called upon to clean up the mess and rebuild the institutions that corruption has ravaged over the years.”

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Buhari said his government would build an economic model that involving substantial social investment over the next three years.

The three-day summit has as its theme, ‘Tough choices: Achieving competitiveness, inclusive growth and sustainability’.

Osinbajo: Nigerians United By Extreme Poverty

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo does not want Nigerians to latch on to religious or tribal sentiments in driving division, but to focus on conquering the poverty that unites the nation.

Fielding questions at the 21st Nigerian economic summit in Abuja, he said political actors would often times seek to divide Nigerians along religious and ethnic lines, but Nigerians must expose their lies.

“Political actors always tend to revert to their tribal or even religious affiliations as an explanation to why things are not going right for them,” he said.

“Look at the kind of engagement you have; four people are appointed to political office today and people don’t ask, ‘are these good people’? The question is; are they not all from southwest? Oh, all of them are from the northeast.

“A lot of that talk is actually fuelled by the elite, who always think this is the fastest way of getting recognition. My assessment of this is that politicians and leaders use this to fuel and advance their interest.

“The Nigerian people, whether from the southwest, northeast, are united in one thing – the majority are extremely poor, and the majority want real opportunities.”

He urged the majority of Nigerians not to dwell on the tribal or religious sentiments the elites try to drive in the nation, adding that these elites always collaborate to steal, regardless of tribal groups.

“You would find that the elite, whether from the southwest, northeast or wherever are willing to collaborate when it comes to stealing from the state.”

The professor of law added that the government and the economic team, which he is supervising, would ensure the adoption of social programmes promised.
Ibukun Awosika, first female chairman of First Bank and Frank Aigbogun, the chief executive officer of BusinessDay newspaper, moderated the vice president’s interactive session.