Recession Will End In 2017 – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has
expressed optimism that the current
economic recession will ebb in 2017.
Speaking on Monday in Abuja while
declaring open an induction course
organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
for Nigerian Career Ambassadors-designate
who were recently cleared by the Senate,
President Buhari said:
“We are optimistic that the external factors
that partly contributed to push our
economy into recession will ebb in 2017.
Until then, I regret that the resources
available to fund our missions abroad will
not be as robust as we would like.
“We are working hard to turn around our
national economy by effectively reforming
our macroeconomic environment through
measures, some of which were outlined in
my budget speech to the National Assembly
last week.”
The President, who said the prevailing
economic circumstances have led to a
restructuring of Nigerian missions abroad,
reminded the Ambassadors-designate that ,
“as we are all making great sacrifices at
home, we also expect you to similarly make
judicious use of the resources put at the
disposal of your missions. As Heads of
missions, you will be held accountable for
the utilisation of all resources under your
control. These are lean times, and all of us
are expected to do more with less.”
President Buhari specifically charged the
Ambassadors-designate to change the
narrative of Nigeria outside the country by
playing up the positive values and
outstanding contributions of Nigerians in
the global arena.
“I want to emphasise your duty to change
the narrative of Nigeria as seen by the
outside world. For far too long, we have
allowed Nigeria to be defined by others,
always emphasizing our negatives. To the
average foreigner, Nigeria evokes 419,
terrorism, militancy, communal and
religious clashes, insecurity, corruption and
all our other faults,” he said.
The President continued: “You have the
duty to correct this narrative by taking the
initiative to define and portray our country
for what it truly is. We are a nation of 180
million vibrant, enterprising, hardworking,
hospitable and peaceful people. We are a
remarkable nation that has succeeded in
harnessing our multiple diversities as
strengths such that we are the leading
country on the continent. Therefore, you will
need to mobilise, sensitise and motivate all
your staff so that together you engage with
your host governments, the private sector
and other segments of the society to
explain that Nigeria is much more than the
negative image portrayed to them.”
President Buhari also enjoined them to
leverage on the achievements of Nigerians
within the country and in diaspora: Think of
people like Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka,
Chinedu Echeruo who founded Hotspot
application which he sold to Apple for over
a billion Dollars; think of Bayo Ogunlesi,
who runs over a billion Dollar Infrastructure
Fund and is now Adviser to US President-
elect; and Jelani Aliyu, an accomplished
car designer at General Motors. Indeed,
these and other hardworking Nigerian
professionals in the diaspora have never
forgotten their roots and have been making
significant contributions to their
communities back home, and even to our
economy through their huge remittances.”
He urged them to sustain the work ethic
characterized by the love of country,
professionalism, excellence, integrity and
honour associated with the “Nigerian
diplomatic tradition established in 1957 by
the pioneers of the Nigerian Foreign
Service, sometimes referred to as the
“Twelve Apostles” and also “bequeath same
to succeeding generations. ”
President Buhari also charged the
Ambassadors-designate to stress Nigeria’s
commitment to international peace and
security through contributions “to nearly
every UN peacekeeping initiative since 1960
when we achieved our independence. In
addition, we are the stabilizers and shock
absorbers of West Africa having helped to
contain potentially de-stabilizing
developments in the sub-region.”
He urged the Ambassadors–designate
always to be mindful of the national
priorities that “revolve around the economy,
security, anti-corruption, good governance,
agricultural transformation and
infrastructural development, including rail,
roads and power” and use their roles “as
Principal Representatives to build
meaningful partnerships to attract foreign
investments, new skills and technologies.”
President Buhari stressed that “as Nigerian
Ambassadors, you must set the standard of
putting Nigeria first in all your actions. You
must show leadership, fairness and justice
to all. Discipline, probity, accountability
and zero tolerance for corruption must be
your watchwords. You are expected to
project the best image and traditions of our
country in your conduct and all you do.”