Nigerians are competitive abroad due to good education at home- Buhari

President, Muhammadu Buhari has attributed the competitiveness Nigerians display abroad as a result of the good education they acquired before travelling out of the country.

The President said this when he met with the Minister of State Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, Shaikh Shakboot Alnahyan, at the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum on Friday.

The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina made this known in a statement titled ‘Nigerians Competitive Both Home And Abroad, President Buhari Tells UAE Minister.’

Adesina quoted Buhari as saying, “Nigerians are all over the place, very competitive. And the competitiveness starts from home, where they have acquired good education, gone into businesses, and then take all that abroad.”

The President encouraged Nigerians in Diaspora to “subject themselves to the rules and standards of the country in which they live either as working class, or doing businesses.”

He welcomed the offer by UAE to partner with Nigeria in the areas of renewable energy, agriculture, infrastructure logistics, and provision of vaccines to further control the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said there were lots of Nigerians in his country “who add much value,” assuring that the headwinds of the recent past in the relationship “are now behind us.”

According to him, “We want to secure, deepen and strengthen the association for the future. We have a lot in common. We may be taking small steps, but they are leading somewhere.”

On proposed investments in Nigeria, Alnahyan said it would be a win-win situation, “which would bring hope and opportunities for people in both countries. We want to come and add quality and value.”

Adesina said the Minister equally commended the Nigerian government for its robust tackling of violent extremism.