NIGERIAN President, Muhammadu Buhari, has regretted that under his leadership, the country is learning the hard way about the economy.
Buhari was on Monday addressing a special envoy of the Iranian President. Mohammad Javad Zarif who visited him at the State House, Abuja.
“In Nigeria, we’re learning. We’re learning the hard way through hardship, and we’re learning very quickly on how to explore other sectors of the economy like gas, solid minerals and agriculture for growth,” Buhari said.
According to him, the Iranian economy remains an inspiration for Nigeria in the deployment of technology to harness and export gas, grow food for the populace and promote entrepreneurship in education.
The president said the Federal Government was working assiduously to ameliorate the challenges confronting Nigeria’s economy within a short period by understudying the experiences of countries like Iran that thrived in adversity.
“The progress made by Iran within a short period of 30 years is really commendable. Within the period, you’ve been able to harness gas flaring, and you’re now exporting. You’ve recorded strides in security, manufacturing, agriculture and technology. You’ve also achieved a lot in nuclear research”, he said.
He noted that Nigeria had all the potentials for growing into a great economy through more inclusive planning, consistency in government policies and commitment to the realisation of development targets.
In his remarks, the envoy promised that the Iranian government would support the ongoing restructuring of the Nigerian economy.
He said he visited Nigeria with a delegation of more than 70 members of the Iranian business community who had started discussions in investing in such sectors as banking, education, scholarship, agriculture, energy, tourism and technology development.
