Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said that former president, Goodluck Jonathan almost turned Nigeria into a pariah state during his tenure.
Mohammed made the comment on Wednesday, February 17, 2016, while addressing journalists at the Presidential Villa, Punch reports.
“You do not run a country by being isolated and the personal presence of the President in many of these forums is very important because before now, we were almost a pariah state,” he said as justification for President Muhammadu Buhari’s frequent foreign trips.
“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 are very crucial even to the economy back home. What I mean that Nigeria was a pariah state is that before now, the level of corruption was very high that nobody was ready to risk his investment in Nigeria.
“The cost of doing business 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,” he added.
Buhari has been severely criticized for his frequent travels with Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose urging him to stay in Nigeria and fix the country’s problems instead of touring the world.
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