President Muhammadu Buhari, on
Saturday, thanked His Majesty, King Abdallah Bin Hussein of Jordan, for the
special invitation to participate in the Annual Middle East and North Africa
Conference (World Economic Forum).
On
Friday Buhari arrived city of Amman in Jordan, to participate in the
Annual Middle East and North Africa Conference (World Economic Forum).
Here is full text of President
Buhari’s speech…
Permit me to start by thanking
His Majesty, King Abdallah Bin Hussein of Jordan, for the special invitation to
speak to you briefly at this event.
2. I also want to congratulate
the World Economic Forum for organizing this forum with the theme of “Building
New Platforms of Cooperation”.
3. In this digital age where
physical borders no longer exist to protect even the most secured nations, the
only way to overcome predatory and divisionary forces is for all well-meaning
nations to work together for the greater good of mankind.
4. Simply put, cooperation
amongst sovereign nations is no longer a choice. It is an absolute necessity.
5. In the last ten years, the
world as we knew it has completely changed.
6. We have seen and experienced
significant shifts on many fronts. In Technology; Population and Migration;
Trade and Geopolitics; Climate change; and many more.
7. For some nations, these trends
have had positive impacts. But of course, we have also seen the negative and
destructive outcomes of these trends in other countries.
8. It is my view, that no region
of the world has felt the full impact of these dramatic shifts and shocks like
the Middle East and Africa – North and Sub-Sahara.
9. On one hand, our region is
blessed with a very young, vibrant, enterprising and dynamic population. We
also have valuable natural resources that are the envy of many nations.
10. These assets and endowments
contributed to our region experiencing some of the highest economic growth
rates in the world.
11. On the other hand, however,
we have also been hosts to some of the deadliest conflicts in recent history.
The deaths, damage and destruction caused by terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda,
ISIS and Boko Haram over the last ten years will take decades to repair.
12. By the special grace of God,
today, most of these terrorist organizations have been significantly degraded.
The world came together to achieve this. Now, we are faced with the task of
rebuilding.
13. It is at this point that we
must ask ourselves how we, as a region, got to this point. The answer, at least
in the case of Nigeria, is the lack of social and economic inclusion.
14. As Nigeria celebrated being
the largest economy in Africa and one of the fastest growing economies in the
world, Nigerians were migrating in droves through harsh desert conditions and
across treacherous seas to seek what they believe would be a better life in
Europe.
15. Ladies and gentlemen, I
strongly believe that the lack of social and economic inclusion was the root
cause of many challenges we are experiencing.
16. Today, our population is one
hundred and ninety million people. By 2050, it is estimated that we hit three
hundred and ninety million making us the third most populous country in the
world. This means we must start working now to ensure this population is
productively engaged.
17. In the last four years, we
focused on security while implementing inclusive policies.
18. On the security front, we
made significant gains in fighting Boko Haram. We have recaptured all
territories held by Boko Haram in 2014. We have liberated thousands of
Nigerians held against their will.
19. Today, I am pleased to say no
territory in the Federal Republic of Nigeria is held or controlled by Boko
Haram.
20. We are extremely grateful to
the many countries that have stood with Nigeria to confront this global scourge
and in particular, the Kingdom of Jordan under the leadership of His Majesty,
the King.
21. Furthermore, our economic
diversification and social inclusion policies are also yielding positive
results. Our country has now returned to the path of growth. We are making
gains in the ease of doing business indices.
22. A key driver for growth is
the agricultural sector where we aggressively pushed agricultural policies that
empowered millions of our rural citizens.
23. In the spirit of “Building
New Platforms of Cooperation”, we partnered with the Kingdom of Morocco to
domesticate fertilizer production in Nigeria and revive over two million tons
of abandoned fertilizer blending plant capacity.
24. The outcome is we created
tens of thousands of jobs in agriculture, logistics, manufacturing and retail
sectors. We are able to achieve moderate growth. But it was inclusive.
25. Nigeria is now at a new dawn
and embarking on a new development trajectory. We are determined to
industrialise Nigeria leveraging our comparative advantage.
26. We recognize the private
sector as the engine of growth and a veritable partner in our economic agenda.
The Middle East is a natural partner.
27. Africa and the Middle East
must, therefore, focus on policies that will deliver shared economic prosperity
for all our citizens. On trade and investments for example, we can do more.
Africa represents only five per cent of Jordan’s trade with the world. But we
have the resources, the people and the markets to do more.
28. Opportunities exist in key
job-creating sectors such as Agriculture, Health, Tourism, ICT, Infrastructure
as well as Textile and garmenting to mention a few.
29. Our new, inclusive and
diversified Nigeria is definitely open for business. Our population, resources,
policies and programs make it the most attractive investment destination in
Africa.
30. As friends and allies, we
must therefore cooperate and leverage on our relative strengths. We must remain
open to “Building New Platforms of Cooperation”.
31. As we deliberate over the
next two days, I would ask all leaders present to reflect on our collective
experiences. We must identify how we can work together.
32. Today, we are living in a new
world.
33. In this new world without
borders, my personal view is stability and sustainability can only be achieved
through inclusive economic growth, and enhanced cooperation amongst nations.
34. I thank you all for listening
and I wish you a very successful and productive summit.
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