President Muhammadu Buhari should
be commended, rather being condemned for his globetrotting, in search of
investors.
This is the view of Governor
Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State. He spoke to the Ismaila Chafe, the State House
correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria in Makkah, at the end of the
president’s visit and performance of his second Umrah this year.
Atiku Bagudu, who was also part
of the President’s team during the visit to Saudi Arabia, said the president
should rather be commended for his untiring efforts to boost the nation’s
economy by courting influx of foreign capital.
Bagudu, who reacted to the recent
trips of the president to Japan, Russia and Saudi Arabia, frowned at critics of
the trips, saying they were being unfair to the president and Nigerians who
would eventually be the direct beneficiaries of such economic diplomacy.
He, particularly, described the
president’s trip to Saudi Arabia, where he participated in the Future
Investment Initiative in Riyadh, as a very successful outing for Nigeria.
“It is an excellent outing for Mr
President, President Muhammadu Buhari and us are honored to be part of his
entourage to the conference which is tagged; Future Investment Initiative (FII)
organized by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which is their
Sovereign Wealth Fund equivalent to Nigeria’s Sovereign Fund, only that whereas
ours is under three billion dollars theirs is in excess of 400 billion dollars.
“Mr President was invited by King
Salman bin Abdulaziz, Custodian of the two whole Mosques, and that shows the
respect with which Mr President is treated around the world and the honours he
brings to Nigeria.
“Mr President in addition to
participating in the summit, was also hosted by King Salman ibn Abdulaziz and
he was visited by the Crown Prince, Muhammed ibn Salman, who showed
unprecedented respect for Mr President, because rather than Mr President
visiting him he decided to visit Mr President and agreed to invest in Nigeria.
“So, this is a very, very
successful outing for Nigeria and it is consistent with our call for Mr
President to be more active in economic diplomacy.
“It is noteworthy that Mr
President has visited Russia, Japan, all in a bid to secure investments for
Nigeria.
“This is the kind of activism –
Mr President is not travelling to enjoy himself or on holiday but to bring
investments for Nigeria.
“He (Buhari) just took a day off
to come to Makkah and perform the Umrah and we are quite honoured that we
participated with him in the Umrah.
“He was very, very energetic,
very healthy as he displayed during the movement between the Safa and Marwah.’’
The governor expressed the hope
that Kebbi would benefit immensely from the Saudi and other trips.
“Any benefit to Nigeria is a
benefit to Kebbi State government; two, the promise of more investments by
Saudi Arabia, the promise of more support to our security issues will also have
direct benefit to Kebbi state.
“The fields of cooperation will
include many things that Kebbi state has ability to compete in, like mining,
agriculture and even futuristic investments like Information Technology where
our abled youths will be able to participate and compete,’’ he added.
President Buhari’s four-day visit
to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia came to an end on Saturday.
During the visit, the President
participated in the Future Investment Initiative, which was christened “Davos
in the Desert”.
“Apart from attending the summit,
which had a debating format for global leaders, investors and innovators
to compare notes and share ideas,
President Buhari held extensive talks with the Kingdom’s rulers, King Salman
bin Abdulaziz and his son, the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“The Presidents meetings with the
two prominent rulers marked an important upswing in relations between Nigeria
and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,’’ Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s spokesman
said in a special write up in Abuja on Sunday.
On the sidelines of the
conference, President Buhari also held strategic meetings with the leadership
of Saudi Oil and Gas group, the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund and Public
Investment Fund.
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