Nation
Buhari Said A Lot Of Nigerian Youths, Not All, Are Lazy – Presidency
The Presidency yesterday explained that President Muhammadu Buhari did not refer to all Nigerian youths as lazy in a statement he made on Wednesday during the question and answer session of the Commonwealth Business Forum in London.
Rather, it said Buhari only made reference to “a lot of” Nigerian youths and not all of them.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, made the clarification in a statement made available to journalists.
Adesina attributed the outrage that trailed the President’s comment to those he described as “manipulators and twisters” of Buhari’s statements.
He said, “Typical of their stock in trade, manipulators and twisters of statements of Mr President, who lie in wait to make mischief, interpreted the comment to mean that President Buhari had taken all Nigerian youths to the cleaners.
“But elementary English recognises a wide gulf between ‘a lot of’ and the word ‘all.’ How can ‘a lot of them,’ suddenly transmogrify to mean ‘all of them?’ Mischievous and unconscionable!
“There is no way President Buhari, father of the Nigerian nation in every sense of the word, who equally has biological children of his own in the youths age bracket, pass a vote of no confidence on all youths.
“It can only exist in the imagination of those who play what the President has described as ‘irresponsible politics’ with everything.”
The presidential spokesman said Buhari had always applauded and celebrated Nigerian youths who excel in different areas of endeavour, from sports, to academia, and other realms.
He said the President would continue to do so, because he values the youth, and knows that they are the fulcrum on which the future of the country rests.
“Indeed, every country has its share of idle population, and it is the bounden duty of government at all levels, to create an enabling environment for them to actualise their potential. That is what President Buhari is committed to doing.
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has commemorated the 15th anniversary of the release of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Assessment Report on Ogoniland, reaffirming its commitment to restoring the environment and improving the livelihoods of affected communities.
In a statement signed by the Project Coordinator, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, to commemorate the anniversary, HYPREP described the anniversary as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s environmental restoration efforts, noting that the project has made remarkable progress in implementing the recommendations of the landmark UNEP report released on August 4, 2011.
The UNEP report had revealed extensive oil pollution across Ogoniland, severe environmental degradation, and serious public health risks resulting from decades of petroleum operations. It also recommended an initial $1 billion fund to commence the cleanup of the affected communities.
According to HYPREP, the Federal Government formally launched the Ogoni clean-up in 2016, while the Project Coordination Office was established in 2017 to drive the implementation of UNEP’s recommendations.
Zabbey said the current administration has continued to prioritise the project under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Providing an update on the cleanup, the Project Coordinator disclosed that 30 of the 65 contaminated sites identified by UNEP have been fully remediated, while work is ongoing at several medium- and high-risk locations. It also stated that more than 1.5 million mangrove seedlings have been planted as part of what it described as the world’s largest restoration of oil-degraded mangroves, with over 1,000 hectares of shoreline already rehabilitated.
Zabbey further revealed that 49 Ogoni communities have been connected to potable water schemes through multiple water projects and booster stations aimed at providing safe drinking water across the region.
In the health sector, he said the 100-bed Ogoni Specialist Hospital in Kpite and the 43-bed Cottage Hospital in Buan are nearing completion, adding that several existing health facilities have been upgraded with modern medical equipment, while five ambulances have been donated to improve emergency healthcare services. The Project Coordinator also disclosed that a three-year human health biomonitoring study is being conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
On economic empowerment, Zabbey stated that the Project has created more than 8,000 direct jobs and trained thousands of Ogoni youths and women in various vocational and technical skills, including software development, cybersecurity, aviation, commercial diving, seafaring, mechatronics, and creative arts. The project also reported awarding scholarships to more than 1,000 students, providing grants to small businesses, and supporting persons living with special needs through skills acquisition programmes.
The statement further highlighted ongoing legacy projects, including the Ogoni Power Project and the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, which it said is about 96 per cent complete. HYPREP also welcomed the recent designation of the Ogoni Wetland as a Ramsar Site of International Importance and pledged to continue promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of the ecosystem.
Marking the anniversary, Zabbey said the progress achieved over the past 15 years demonstrates the collective commitment of government, development partners, stakeholders, and local communities to restoring Ogoniland. He called for renewed collaboration to sustain the cleanup effort, promote environmental sustainability, and support the long-term development of the region. 3