After 19 months in office, President Buhari reveals Nigeria’s real problem

After 19 months in office, President Buhari reveals Nigeria’s real problem

- On May 29, 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari's administration would be two years old and the government would list its successes

- However, 19 months after he took an oath, the president has revealed some of his major challenges

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, January 12, 2017, revealed Nigeria’s greatest problem after a year and eight months in office.

According to the president, the country’s ‘very worst’ problem is nothing but corruption.

President Buhari said the country has some challenges including corruption

Daily Trust reports that Buhari said this while hosting recipients of the 2016 Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The president hosted Professors Omowunmi Sadik (Sciences) and Tanure Ojaide (Humanities), who had their investiture on December 1, 2016 and used the opportunity to explain that his All Progressives Congress (APC) government identifies insecurity, poor economy, and corruption as three major challenges facing the country.

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"Nobody disputed the fact that they were the major problems of Nigeria, and we campaigned on those three planks.

“As a government, we believe you cannot administer a country you have not secured, so we focused on security.

“The economy is also down, therefore, we are not sparing any effort to revive and diversify it, so that our people, particularly the youths, can get jobs. The third problem, and the worst of them all, is corruption,” he said adding that Nigeria was in a terrible shape when he took over in 2015.

During that period, he said, oil prices fell to as low as $37 per barrel, from peak periods of over $100 in previous years.

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“There was no money in the treasury. We were producing less than one million barrels of oil per day, from the 2.2 million barrels we used to do.

“The country was in a terrible shape; but luckily, the people understand, and are co-operating with us,” he said while commending the winners and recognizing their contributions to national development.

The award recipients also thanked the president.