President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said the discovery of oil in two Northeast states of Bauchi and Gombe will balance the politics of oil in the country and create stability.
Buhari also said that as a Head of State, he was ignorant of the level of unemployment and the percentage of uncultivated land in the country, adding that it was more difficult for him to fight corruption as a President than when he served as Military Head of Head between 1984 and 1985.
Speaking in Maiduguri while inaugurating projects executed by the Babagana Zulum administration, he enjoined Nigerians to judge him based on his achievements, The Nation reports.
Buhari said it was unfortunate that terrorists and bandits in the Northwest and Northeast were wreaking havoc on their environment as well as their kiths and kin through their activities.
Buhari lamented that till today, many youths still abandon arable lands in their communities and rush to cities to “drink oil money”
His words: “I was amazed and even overwhelmed that I was so ignorant when a certain professor told me that only 2.5 percent Nigeria’s arable land is being used. I didn’t know that even when I was a governor, a minister, and a Head of State.
“To be honest, I didn’t know. We were indoctrinated that we are oil-rich and don’t need to work on the farms. This made everybody to rush to the cities to drink oil money.
“Now oil has almost become irrelevant, but we thank God that oil is now discovered in Bauchi and Gombe and that will help to balance the politics of oil in the country.
“We will quickly develop that and we are putting pipelines across the country to cut the use of vehicles destroying roads.
“Within the next 17 months, Nigerian should be able to judge what this administration has done under my leadership when we came in terms security, the economy, and the most difficult one which is fighting corruption.
“When I came in uniform, I was young and a bit ruthless. I arrested those I thought were corrupt and detained them and I had a series of investigation panels. The then ministers, the governors, commissioners, and those who headed parastatals had to declare their assets. Anyone, who could not explain the difference in his assets, was quietly put in a cage.
”Eventually, I was arrested and when they find out I didn’t have anything. They let me go.
“I joined partisan politics in this babariga and I am having my final time.
“I thank you so much for listening to me. We have a great country with so much land, resources, and young people that we need to educate and guide so that they can lead this country in the future.”
