President Muhammadu Buhari has highlighted why the Nigerian government gave priority to infrastructure development. The President made this known during a bilateral meeting with Her Majesty, Maxima Zorreguieta, Queen of The Netherlands on the sideline of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Buhari stated that he is aware of Nigeria’s limitations and has chosen to focus on infrastructure.
“Without infrastructure, development would be limited, so we put emphasis on building roads, rail, and power. We have a comprehensive plan, and we are doing our best,” the president said.
He added that the country was hampered by resources, despite being oil-exporting, and that with more financial wherewithal, infrastructure works would be sped up.
Buhari assured the queen, who last visited Nigeria in 2017, that if she visits again, she would see a lot of difference.
In the area of agriculture, the president said Nigerian borders were closed with some neighbouring countries to encourage farmers.
Buhari said, “People went back to the land, and this helped us tremendously. We made fertilizers available, resuscitated dams, and it all paid off handsomely. Otherwise, with about 200 million people, we would have been in trouble when COVID-19 struck, and affected the economy.”
He said just like Oliver Twist, Nigeria could do with more help in the area of investments, particularly in agriculture.
“We have the land, we have the people, capital input is what we need,” Buhari stated, adding that Nigerian farmers were quite receptive to modern ways of doing things, especially in respect of cutting post-harvest waste.
Queen Zorreguieta lauded what she called “the huge effort” made by Nigeria to combat the coronavirus pandemic, saying; “you spent a great part of your GDP.”
She said she had a huge commitment to Nigeria, “and will want to accompany her to do more. You won’t be alone. We will be there along with other partners.”