The Federal Government on Wednesday said the foreign trips embarked upon by President Muhammadu Buhari in recent weeks are already recording results.
It also noted that the country was almost a pariah state under the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan because of the high level of corruption and insecurity, a situation which is gradually changing positively.
Speaking to State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Buhari, Minister for Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said Buhari’s foreign trips have begun to yield appreciable fruits.
Defending Buhari’s foreign trips, Mohammed noted that corruption and terrorism in the last administration scared away investors adding that the determination of the President to fight the two scourges had led to investor confidence in the country once again.
He contended that the President’s presence at those fora was needed as Nigeria needed to be a global player in the comity of nations.
‘‘You do not run a country by being isolated. The personal presence of the President in many of these fora is very important because before now, we were almost a pariah state and the two things that have been driving investments away from this country are terrorism and corruption.
“One thing that nobody can fault this President on is his determination to fight these two ills. Mr President’s presence in these fora is very crucial even to the economy back at home.
“The cost of doing business in Nigeria was so high that most international businessmen didn’t want to come here. Who is coming to invest in a country where there is insecurity? These are the twin problems that Mr President has addressed in the last nine months.”
Meanwhile, the Minister for Environment Amina Mohammed, in her interaction with state house correspondents said the investments that President Buhari has brought in due to his foreign trips have been worthwhile.
According to her, the President ‘s presence was not always needed back at home to tackle challenges in the country as he had the vice president and ministers to hold fort for him while on those vital travels.
“Leadership matters a lot. And that is true all over the world. You will fail if you are not looking at putting a strong leadership in place. That is our investment.
“The President doesn’t stand alone. He has a vice president and a cabinet. The cabinet stays with the vice president here as much as possible to try to address those challenges you are talking about on a daily basis.
“But the investments that will come out of the President’s travel is well worth it. I mean the investment we are getting from those visits. We hope to see the President going out more and advocating for this country to get more investments so that we can take everyone out of poverty. That is really what is important. We see it as an investment with a return which is worthwhile,” she added.
-Leadership