“The global economic challenges the world is grappling with today might well turn out to be a blessing for us in Nigeria” – Pres. Buhari

While speaking in Abuja yesterday at the opening of the International Islamic Conference on Peace and Nation Building, President Muhammadu Buhari stated that the global economic challenges that the world is facing can be seen as a blessing to Nigeria.

See parts of his speech below.

The global economic challenges the world is grappling with today might well turn out to be a blessing for us in Nigeria, because it will stimulate the latent economic opportunities that we have left untapped for decades.

Poverty breeds disaffection, which in turn leads to crime and lawlessness including confrontation against the state. To checkmate this, we must work hard to lift our economy, engage our youth and rebuild infrastructure. We can only achieve these with full cooperation of all Nigerians and under a stable polity. We are determined to do this and we shall not be deterred.

No religion approves of such heinous crimes against humanity; definitely not Islam nor Christianity, the two to which most Nigerians belong. This is a tragedy which all normal people must rise up against. Islam does not permit lawlessness. It frowns at extremism even in normal acts of worship. The emergence of any group advocating the contrary is therefore irreligious and unacceptable.