Buhari Only Calls ‘A lot of, Not All’ Nigerian Youths Lazy, Presidency Clarifies

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Thursday, April 19th, 2018

By Niyi Adeyi

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Presidency has denied that President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in London referred to all Nigerian youths as being lazy.

Buhari is accused of attacking the Nigerian youths, suggesting that “all of them” are uneducated and lazy, during the questions and answers session of the Commonwealth Business Forum in London.

The Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, made the clarification in a statement he issued Thursday and made available to newsmen.

“Typical of their stock in trade, manipulators and twisters of statements of Mr. President, who lie in wait to make mischief, interpreted the comment to mean that President Buhari had taken all Nigerian youths to the cleaners.

“But elementary English recognizes a wide gulf between ‘a lot of’ and the word ‘all.’ How can ‘a lot of them,’ suddenly transmogrify to mean ‘all of them?’ Mischievous and unconscionable!

“There is no way President Buhari, father of the Nigerian nation in every sense of the word, who equally has biological children of his own in the youths age bracket, pass a vote of no confidence on all youths.

“It can only exist in the imagination of those who play what the President has described as ‘irresponsible politics’ with everything” Mr. Adesina argued.

“Indeed, every country has its share of idle population, and it is the bounding duty of government at all levels, to create an enabling environment for them to actualize their potential. That is what President Buhari is committed to doing”.

It would be recalled that one of the swift reactions that trailed the alleged statement is the one by a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.

Atiku in a statement from his Abuja media office countered ”I will never refer to Nigeria’s youth as people who sit and do nothing. They are hardworking. I should know, I have thousands of youths working for me all over the country who have been the backbone to our success”.

”I’ve always said oil is not Nigeria’s greatest asset. Our greatest asset is our youth who created Nollywood out of nothing and an entertainment industry that is second to none in Africa.

”Our youth are charting new frontiers; creating a huge tech industry on their own! Their entrepreneurial spirit, work ethic, and creative abilities are things of pride and should be applauded, encouraged and nurtured” the ex-VP stressed.