Buhari tells diaspora that Nigerian elite stood by and did nothing as PDP mis-governed the country for 16 years

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has castigated the Nigerian elite for not voicing a word of protest while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) misgoverned the nation for 16 years between 1999 and 2015.

Speaking to the Nigerian diaspora in New York at a town hall meeting after addressing the United Nations, President Buhari told them that if he wins the 2019 elections and spends another four years in office, he will leave some difference. Telling off the diaspora for letting the PDP get away with mismanaging the country for so long, the president regretted that the elite allowed Nigeria to be badly managed for 16 years without as much as raising a voice in consternation.

President Buhari said: “Under the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) of which I was chairman, we did roads from Lagos to Abuja, to Onitsha and to Port Harcourt. Since then, however, between 1999 and 2015, the roads were not done, yet the elite did not say a word.

“I was called Baba Go Slow but those who were going fast, where did they get to? In 1983, military officers gathered, and made me head of state and I packed the politicians into jail, told them they were guilty until they could prove their innocence.

"We seized what they had looted but after I myself was put in detention, the politicians were given back what they had looted. How many elite complained about that? Three times I contested elections, three times I went to court after the elections were rigged against me. No justice, but I said God dey."

He added that it was mainly the ordinary people that stood by him, which is why he is always conscious of them, adding that they are his constituency. According to the president, even pregnant women standing in queues would fall into labour, go to have their babies and still come back to vote for him.

President Buhari told the diaspora: “You are contributing to this great country America but if you want to help back home, invest in education in your constituencies. If you educate people, they won’t then accept nonsense from anybody.”

Many of the diasporans at the event expressed the wish to come back home to contribute to the development in Nigeria. Apparently, those present included top flight professionals drawn from fields like medicine, engineering, sports, the arts, investment, academia, politics, agriculture, transport, education, publishing and many more.

President Buhari said the administration he leads has kept faith with its three key campaign promises to secure the country, revive the economy and fight corruption. At the event, representatives of the US chapters of Nigerians in the Diaspora Organisation presented awards to the president in appreciation of his performance, urging him to do more.