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 on, 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 asked, 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 (on) 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 was about 25 per cent of our foreign exchange.
“The youth must watch our elite, especially with the condition in which we have found ourselves. 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.