The Federal Government has given reasons why
President Muhammadu Buhari travels outside
the shores of Nigeria frequently.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Ambassador Bulus Lolo, told newsmen
on the sideline of President Buhari’s visit to
China that Nigerians owe him a great debt of
gratitude for travelling abroad where he deploys
goodwill for the benefit of Nigerians.
Lolo maintained that those criticising the
president are rather uninformed, saying Nigeria
has benefited a lot from the president’s
frequent trips.
“On Tuesday, the Governor of the Central Bank
of Nigeria signed an agreement with China,
providing us a $5 billion window, which is like
we have added to our reserve by about five
billion because any goods you buy today, either
from China or elsewhere, and you want to pay,
you don’t have to draw from our national
reserve.
“We can use this window that has been
provided. That is one advantage the president
brings from his frequent travels.
“Doors were locked against Nigeria, but, now,
they are putting red carpet for him to walk
through, and as he walks through, Nigeria
businessmen are behind him, opening new
opportunities. The second advantage of Mr
President’s travels comes from the fact that he
is trusted around the world. This is not a
commodity you pick from a shelf in a shop. It is
personal to him, but, he is expending it for the
good of the country.
“The third benefit of his travels is his integrity.
Where there is trust and there is integrity,
people believe you. They are ready to do
business with you,” Lolo said.
Lolo added that because the president travels,
things that Nigeria was denied are presently
thrown open to the country.
“Talk of three, four
years ago in our fight against Boko Haram; with
money in our hands, we were looking for
equipment to buy, we couldn’t buy. Today, there
is not a single country that he has visited where
he is not being invited to tell them what he
wants to buy, including the very equipment we
were denied before. It is ours to ask, and,
sometimes, even at subsidised rate.
“In a nutshell, the answer is very simple: we
owe him a great debt of gratitude for expending
his goodwill, his integrity and trust that he
enjoys…”
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