President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria is paying dearly for incompetence in managing high revenue that accrued from oil, particularly over the past decade, and for allowing the decay of critical infrastructure.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said the president spoke at the State House, Abuja, on Monday while receiving the Chief Global CEO of Unilever, Mr Paul Polman.

The president said his administration was working very hard to change the structure of the Nigerian economy battered by several years of mismanagement.

”We refused to save for the rainy day. Now the rain is beating us. No money, no savings, nothing. And we are thoroughly wet from the rains,” he said.

Buhari said Nigeria was paying the price for turning herself into a mono economy, but assured that the country would soon be able to feed herself, and even export, with the current emphasis placed on agriculture.

He gave an assurance that the Federal Government would fast-track the implementation of strategies to ease doing business and attract more investors into Nigeria.

“We want to create jobs, and supporting manufacturing is one way to do it. As soon as we have stabilized our budget, I would personally be interested in the manufacturing sector, particularly in the generation of essential raw materials,” the president said.

Credit: Thisday