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The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement on Monday, listed benefits if the trips to include the reactivation of 24 moribund fertilizer blending plants, which are now providing 100,000 direct and indirect new jobs to Nigerians.He added that the cost of fertilizer is down by more than 50 percent, with Nigeria makes a saving of USD 200 million used for its annual import and a further N60 billion in budgeted annual subsidy.
“President Buhari’s travels have not been excessive by the standards of this country’s past leaders and those of his counterparts in other countries. Given advances in modern travel and technology, a leader can maintain communication and govern from the air, on the road or at the sea. Given the advances made with satellite feeds, a leader needs not to be tied to his desk to make important decisions. The days of frequent travel by leaders is the new norm, it is not something that will go away no matter the volume of crocodile tears shed by a critical opposition.”
The Presidential Spokesman also listed rewards from the Beijing trip which facilitated a meeting with President Xi Jinping, that put the Lagos-Kano railway and Mambilla power plant on top priority, adding that “Today, China is giving these projects together with the finance and many more”
“On the recent trip to Russia, President Buhari had a wish list that included railways, power projects, and military procurements. He had a wish to get the Russians who own the Aluminum smelter plant, built at a whopping USD 4 billion to operationalize it; Ajaokuta Steel plant built at a similar cost, with 20,000 engineers trained to operate it, many of whom are now dead from hunger and lack of engagement is another 40 year – old problem. To these and others, President Putin held the keys to the solutions. President Buhari asked, and he was given.”
He also listed efforts being made by the global giants like Siemens, Toyota, Hyundai, General Electric (GE), among others are talking to Nigeria about their commitment to investing billions of dollars through manufacturing and other forms of Foreign Direct Investment. Add these to the many Chinese companies that are involved with us in the construction of railways, roads, airports and power plants.
For him, “ These Chinese engagements are coming, complete with succession plans in which thousands of Nigerians are being trained over there, to ultimately manage the new projects”
“President Buhari’s strategy of selling Nigeria’s infrastructure priorities to countries with economic clout is paying off handsomely is in reality, doing Nigeria proud by tackling the gaps in infrastructure deficit.
“The records of some of his predecessors in office bespeak a greedy trail, when they go abroad they first ask: what is in it for me? What is there for my family? President Buhari is different. Understood correctly, he is an opportunity manager who knows the worth of person to person contact in a working relationship.
“Given the possibilities of economic development and jobs creation, no sensible critic will ever say that there is anything wrong with this government’s efforts at attracting foreign investment
Shehu accused critics of the President’s frequent trips of “ being more interested in scoring cheap headlines and generating a gossip on social media”
In today’s interconnected world, international engagements of nations are calendared in specified times of the year. No nation will fail to take advantage of the important international gatherings to make their views known and express their concerns.
“Not many leaders will ignore invitations to the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, the Commonwealth, the African Union or that of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
“The attendance at these meetings is not mandatory. But it is an established norm, the absence from which, by an important country like Nigeria, will obviously be an issue of its own.”
