President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday met with serving corps members in his Daura country home of Katsina State, saying he hopes terrorists wreaking havoc will realise the nation’s problem is to be productive.
Receiving members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Buhari said regular interface and a broader vision of Nigeria as a whole will improve relationships, especially among the youths.
He advised Nigerian youths to look beyond culture, ethnicity and religion in relating with one another, urging more travel, mingling, tolerance and negotiations to appreciate the rich diversity of the country.
“I hope the rest of Nigerians that are making trouble, the terrorists and so on, will understand that Nigeria’s problem is people to be productive in terms of producing the food we eat, look at when we closed our borders for about two years, stopped the importation of rice, a lot of people had gone back to the land and they haven’t regretted it, we are now feeding ourselves and some rice being exported. So this is my objective and I am achieving it,” he stated.
“My only problem is that there are still people who really benefit from killing other people and stealing and so on.”
The President said the NYSC scheme broadened the horizon for many over the years and reduced the tensions and misunderstandings that exist between strangers.
He asked the youth corps to keep expanding their views on life and opportunities, and avoid the limitations of culture, ethnicity, and religion by exploring technology to network, even beyond borders, ensure personal development, and a more competitive means of livelihood.
“It’s very good for Nigeria seeing that Corps members posted to Maiduguri, Sokoto, or here in Katsina State.
“Before NYSC, there were people of Lagos who had never gone out of the Lagos island, and then they found themselves in Maiduguri, or Sokoto or here, I think is very very good for Nigeria.
“Nigeria is so vast culturally, ethnically and religiously, and we have to learn tolerance with each other.
“So I congratulated you for coming here to the other end of Nigeria from wherever you come, I wish you a successful NYSC camp.
“Now we are into a time if you cooperate with technology because government job is no longer there,” the President added.
