President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said despite the criticisms of many, he would continue to blame his predecessors for Nigeria’s woes.

He said passing the buck, which people have been frowning at, was important in order for Nigerians to know what went wrong with the country.

Buhari spoke at an event tagged, “The Conversation: An evening with creative youths,” held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The event, attended also by the President’s wife, Aisha; Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo; as well as governors and other top government officials, had “Creative youth as drivers of the change agenda” as its theme.

Buhari said, “I am going to bore you with what we met. I know that I am being accused in the papers of passing the buck, but passing the buck is sometimes absolutely necessary to remind people who take things for granted.“When we came in, I screamed to high heavens because I had promised a lot while seeking votes.

“I said where is the saving? There was no saving. There was no infrastructure,power, rails, roads, there was none. What did we spend the money on? I was told buying food and petrol.

“Where were the billions going? We conducted a study and found out that the oil marketers were committing fraud on at least one third ‎of what they were importing, which is about 25per cent of our foreign exchange.‎”

The youth must watch our elite, especially with the condition we foundourselves. It is unpatriotic for anybody to pretend that economically we have no problem.

“I have bored you with this long explanation because there are things that could be hidden from you by those that have mismanaged the country in the last 16, 17 years.”

The President therefore tasked Nigerian youths to be alive to their responsibilities of holding their leaders and the elite accountable.

Jesuobu:
What shall it profit a man if he blames the whole world and losses his soul.

blueto:
So you mean those rail way systems that you inaugurated at the inception of your administration, the 5000mw you inherited and so on weren't a product of your predecessors?? You are quick to attribute every failure in your govt to your predecessors but attribute any iota of success to your “body language.”

In spite of your administration’s daily vilification of Jonathan, the achievements of his government continue to speak for themselves.

Jonathan put in place a policy that provided zero import-duty for completely knocked down vehicles; while discouraging the importation of already assembled cars; old or brand new, by the imposition of heavy import-duties. This propelled car manufacturers to set up assembly-plants in Nigeria that provide jobs for craftsmen, technicians, technologists, engineers, and other professionals across the value chain. The government also made it a policy to patronize locally-made and assembled cars.

The outcome is that local car-assembly is back in Nigeria; literally risen from the dead. Big auto giants, including Peugeot, Nissan, Volkswagen, Kia, Hyundai and apparently Honda, now either assemble, or entirely manufacture, their cars, SUVs, trucks and buses at various locations in Nigeria. In addition, Nigeria had an indigenous car-manufacturing company, Innoson, which was not only selling locally but dabbling in exports.

Nigerians did not vote you for incessant blames, don't think because APC recently won a state election then Nigerians won't vote you out if you keep blaming and failing to perform.

blueto:

“I have bored you with this long explanation because there are things that could be hidden from you by those that have mismanaged the country in the last 16, 17 years.”

tuale4u:
Buhari is on point.

I actually i find it unrealistic when people say the govt should stop blaming the past.
We are suffering today, because the past never prepared for the future (today).

And also we are very unrealistic in our expectation that things can turn around suddenly.
it will takes us about ten years to diversify the economy. Diversification is not a switch you can just turn on or off.
it is a long painful process. We must understand this and work towards it.

All we talk about is dollar vs naira rate because we are still focussing on consuming imported tins.

We must look inward in our consumption pattern.

Blaming the past for the current economy woes does not in any way affect the performance of the govt. They can blame past govt while they work. it does not slow down progress in anyway. Actually it helps progress because it makes it easier for Nigerians to persevere and work hard for a better future.

tuale4u:
Buhari is on point.

I actually i find it unrealistic when people say the govt should stop blaming the past.
We are suffering today, because the past never prepared for the future (today).

And also we are very unrealistic in our expectation that things can turn around suddenly.
it will takes us about ten years to diversify the economy. Diversification is not a switch you can just turn on or off.
it is a long painful process. We must understand this and work towards it.

All we talk about is dollar vs naira rate because we are still focussing on consuming imported tins.

We must look inward in our consumption pattern.

Blaming the past for the current economy woes does not in any way affect the performance of the govt. They can blame past govt while they work. it does not slow down progress in anyway. Actually it helps progress because it makes it easier for Nigerians to persevere and work hard for a better future.

TPAND:
No wonder we are where we are.

But wait a moment Buhari... Hol up, hol up just hol up,

I have never heard you blame IBB, Abacha, Abdulsalami, OBJ for our woes.
All I hear is past administration or GEJ