Despite the outrage generated by
his comment on young persons in the country, President Muhammadu Buhari has
again spoken on the negative aspects of youth.
While speaking at a Commonwealth
forum in London, Buhari had said a lot of Nigerian youths have not been to
school and they want everything free, banking on the notion that Nigerian is an
oil-rich nation.
“More than 60 percent of the
(Nigeria’s) population is below 30, a lot of them haven’t been to school and
they are claiming that Nigeria is an oil producing country, therefore, they
should sit and do nothing, and get housing, healthcare, education free,” he had
said.
The comment had generated
backlash from many Nigerians who berated the president for “de-marketing the
country.”
However, speaking during an
interview with Voice of America on Tuesday, Buhari said most youth in the north
are uneducated or school dropouts.
He said this while clarifying his
comment on young persons in London. The president said the comment he made at
the Commonwealth forum was taken out of context.
“You know Nigeria’s population is
now between 180 and 190 million and 60 per cent of this population is youth
that is 30 years down ward,” he told VOA.
“You know in the north most
youths are uneducated or school dropouts. If not because we had good harvests
in the last two farming seasons, the situation would have deteriorated.
“These youths even if they travel
out of the north for greener pasture they hardly make it economically because
what they earn as income cannot afford them to meet their basic needs or return
home.
“All these explanations I made,
they refused to highlight them in their report and you know the media in Nigeria
in most cases only do what they like.”
‘AT FIRST, I DIDN’T WANT LAI
MOHAMMED TO REPLY OBASANJO’S LETTER’
Buhari added that he did not want
Lai Mohammed, minister of information, to reply ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo
on his criticism about his administration.
Obasanjo had written the
president a letter, accusing him of performing below expectations.
But Mohammed, in return, faulted
Obasanjo’s letter, listing the things he considered as the achievements of
Buhari.
He said he let the minister to
reply Obasanjo so as to highlight his (Buhari’s) achievements since coming to
power.
He said: “Even when the minister
of information and culture wanted to reply that abusive letter written by
former President Olusegun Obasanjo, I had wanted Lai not to reply the letter
but I said I should allow him to highlight the achievements of our
administration.”
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