President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday admitted that there
are no easy solutions to the mirage of problems bedeviling The country.
He however assured Nigerians that his administration is
earnestly pursuing the solutions available to it with a view to repositioning
the country.
Buhari said this in his nationwide broadcast to the nation
in commemoration of Nigeria’s 56th Independence Anniversary.
Describing economies behaviour as cyclical, the President
said all countries face ups and downs.
He attributed the recession being witnessed in the country
to shortage of foreign exchange and the violence being perpetrated by the Niger
Delta Avengers.
He however assured Nigerians that the problems are
temporary.
Buhari said, “Our own recession has been brought about by a
critical shortage of foreign exchange. Oil price dropped from an average of
$100 per barrel over the last decade to an average of $40 per barrel this year
and last.
“Worse still, the damage perpetrated by Niger Delta thugs on
pipelines sometimes reduced Nigeria’s production to below one million barrels
per day against the normal 2.2million barrels per day. Consequently, the naira
is at its weakest, but the situation will stabilise.
“But this is only temporary. Historically about half our
dollar export earnings go to importation of petroleum and food products!
Nothing was saved for the rainy days during the periods of prosperity. We are
now reaping the whirlwinds of corruption, recklessness and impunity.
“There are no easy solutions, but there are solutions
nonetheless and Government is pursuing them in earnest. We are to repair our
four refineries so that Nigeria can produce most of our petrol requirements
locally, pending the coming on stream of new refineries. That way we will save
$10bin yearly in importing fuel.”
On the economic crisis facing the county, Buhari said he was
aware of the difficulties being faced by Nigerians.
He said he was aware that many families could not afford to
pay children’s school fees or buy foods at exorbitant prices while many others
are unemployed.
He added that as a salary earner all his adult life, he is
also aware of the problem inherent in insufficient salary.
Amidst all these, Buhari assured Nigerians that the economic
crisis would not last.
The President said, “I know that uppermost in your minds
today is the economic crisis. The recession for many individuals and families
is real.
“For some It means not being able to pay school fees, for
others it’s not being able to afford the high cost of food (rice and millet) or
the high cost of local or international travel, and for many of our young
people the recession means joblessness, sometimes after graduating from
university or polytechnic.
“I know how difficult things are, and how rough business is.
All my adult life I have always earned a salary and I know what it is like when
your salary simply is not enough. In every part of our nation people are making
incredible sacrifices.
“But let me say to all Nigerians today, I ran for office
four times to make the point that we can rule this nation with honesty and
transparency, that we can stop the stealing of Nigeria’s resources so that the
resources could be used to provide jobs for our young people, security,
infrastructure for commerce, education and healthcare.
“I ran for office because I know that good government is the
only way to ensure prosperity and abundance for all. I remain resolutely
committed to this objective.
“I believe that this recession will not last. Temporary
problems should not blind or divert us from the corrective course this
government has charted for our nation. We have identified the country’s salient
problems and we are working hard at lasting solutions.
“To re-cap what I have been saying since the inception of
this administration, our problems are security, corruption and the economy,
especially unemployment and the alarming level of poverty.”
The President insisted that on security, his administration
had made progress by defeating the Boko Haram last December, leaving the sect
resorting to cowardly attacks on soft targets, killing innocent men, women and
children.
Besides Boko Haram, Buhari said his administration was
confronting other long-running security issues, including herdsmen vs farmers,
cattle rustling, kidnappings, saying the government is firmly resolved to
tackle these challenges and to defeat them.
He again read the Riot Act to Niger Delta militants who have
been vandalising oil installations, saying his administration would no longer
tolerate their excesses.
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