President Muhammadu Buhari has held a bilateral meeting on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly holding in New York, USA, with Her Majesty, Maxima Zorreguieta, Queen of The Netherlands.
A statement by Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s spokesman in Abuja, said the Nigerian leader, during the closed- door meeting, stressed the importance of infrastructural development for the advancement of any nation.
He said Nigeria was well aware of her limitations, and thus prioritised the provision of 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,” he 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.
President Buhari assured the Queen, who last visited Nigeria in 2017, that if she came again, she would see a lot of differences.
In the area of agriculture, the president said Nigerian borders were closed with some neighboring countries to encourage farmers, “and eat what we grow.
”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,” he stated.
He added that Nigerian farmers were quite receptive to modern ways of doing things, especially in respect of cutting post-harvest waste.
