President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has shared his conviction of a great and prosperous Nigeria with Nigerians in India, saying he vied for the office of president to end bad leadership.
Tinubu who is in India for the G-20 Summit spoke during an interaction with Nigerians in India on Thursday evening.
The president called on Nigerians to harness the country’s rich diversity as a uniquely powerful tool for advancing prosperity and national development for the benefit of all citizens.
He emphasised that Nigeria’s diversity must be leveraged to drive economic growth, innovation and social progress.
“We are here to present a new future to you. A future of a country that is so rich, endowed, and highly populated. Very dynamic, unique in its culture, tradition, and ethnicity. That is what will make our prosperity possible, if only we can make use of our diversity for prosperity,” a statement by presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, quoted Tinubu as saying.
President Tinubu also told the meeting that he ran for the highest office in the country because despite the great human and natural resource wealth of the nation, the leadership and public sector management deficit in the country held Nigeria back from manifest destiny.
“We are not poor in knowledge. We are not poor in human resources. We are only poor in management and leadership, and that is why I ran for president, to help all of us mould the soul of our country in the right direction,” he said.
Reflecting on the trajectory of his life, which prepared him for leadership, the president noted at the meeting that was attended by several Nigerian students studying in India that with dedication, honesty, determination and a change of mindset, they can reach for the top in their respective careers.
Tinubu stated: “Good education brought me here and I am happy to stand before you here as the President of Nigeria. I started small. I was a security guard. I was a tutor in school. I was a brilliant student. I joined Deloitte and was trained by one of the biggest accounting firms in the world, because of my education,” the President recollected.
“When I joined them, I asked them, do you have branches in Nigeria and they said, ‘we have a lot of clients that will take you, if you want to go home.’ That’s how I got to Exxon Mobil and was a very successful accountant, auditor-general, and treasurer, until I joined politics with a can-do attitude.
“You can also do it; do not be despondent in any way. Nigeria is ready to accommodate all. It does not matter which part of Nigeria you are from.”
The minister of foreign affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, while addressing the students, explained that President Tinubu’s foreign policy thrust include four Ds, with one of them being Diaspora, which focuses on improving the quality of services that Nigerians in the Diaspora receive at Nigerian Missions abroad.
“The issue of passport delays will be a thing of the past. You won’t have to wait indefinitely for your passports to be ready. Secondly, you are the first point of contact between Nigerians and other countries. We can’t grow beyond what our people project. That is why it is very important for you to project a consistently positive image of Nigeria online and off-line,” the chief diplomat of Nigeria said.
Earlier, Business magnate, Tony Elumelu, told journalists that Nigeria was the best place to invest and that a bet on Nigerians is one of the best bets anyone can ever make, citing Nigerian success in all countries of the world.
“We believe in Africa, but especially in Nigeria. An investment in Nigeria promises a return that is scarcely found anywhere in the world and I do business across several continents,” the Africapitalist concluded.
We’ve got the edge. Get real-time reports, breaking scoops, and exclusive angles delivered straight to your phone. Don’t settle for stale news. Join LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for 24/7 updates →
Join Our WhatsApp Channel
