President Buhari Meets Queen, Seeks Agricultural Intervention, Others

President Muhammadu Buhari held a bilateral meeting on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly holding in New York, USA, with Her Majesty, Maxima Zorreguieta, Queen of The Netherlands. 

In a statement by Femi Adesina, the President’s spokesman in Abuja, the Nigerian leader, during a closed-door meeting, stressed the importance of infrastructural development for the advancement of any nation.

He said Nigeria was well aware of her limitations, and thus prioritized the provision of infrastructure.

“Without infrastructure, the development would be limited, so we emphasize building roads, rail, and power. We have a comprehensive plan, and we are doing our best,” he said.

He added that the country was hampered by resources, despite being oil-exporting, and that with more financial wherewithal, infrastructure works would be sped up.

President Buhari assured the Queen, who last visited Nigeria in 2017, that if she came again, she would see a lot of differences.

In the area of agriculture, the president said Nigerian borders were closed with some neighbouring countries to encourage farmers.

”People went back to the land, and this helped us tremendously. We made fertilizers available, resuscitated dams, and it all paid off handsomely.

Otherwise, with about 200 million people, we would have been in trouble when COVID-19 struck and affected the economy.”

He said just like Oliver Twist, Nigeria could do with more help in the area of investments, particularly in agriculture.

“We have the land, we have the people, capital input is what we need,” he stated.

He added that Nigerian farmers were quite receptive to modern ways of doing things, especially in respect of cutting post-harvest waste.

Queen Zorreguieta lauded what she called “the huge effort” made by Nigeria to combat the Coronavirus pandemic, saying; “you spent a great part of your GDP.”

She said she had a huge commitment to Nigeria, “and will want to accompany her to do more. You won’t be alone. We will be there along with other partners.”

The Queen said agriculture was music to her ears, being the daughter of a former Minister of Agriculture, and her biggest plea would be for Nigeria to make infrastructure available so that investors and aid donors could access areas beyond the major cities.

“We need roads, railways, digital financial inclusion for farmers. The government needs to digitize all payments,” she said.