Buhari: 'Nigeria Needs China’s Help'

Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria’s relationship with China is a development opportunity that the country cannot afford to lose.

Buhari also said that his administration is committed to contracts signed with Chinese firms by his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan.

The president made the comments while speaking to Chinese news agency, Xinhua, before embarking on an official trip to China.

“China has the technical and financial capacity and the experience of development while retaining the goodwill to help Nigeria. So, really, this is an opportunity Nigeria cannot afford to lose,” Buhari said.

“In spite of being the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria is still badly in need of these projects, which China, as the world’s second-largest economy, has the capacity to undertake.

“The opportunities that present themselves for us … are virtually limitless,” he said, adding that 62 percent of the Nigerian population is under the age of 35 and the jobless rate among this group is very high.

“The best way to tackle unemployment is to develop agriculture and the mining industry, which China has the capacity to help. Some Chinese enterprises have already been involved in the mining industry in Nigeria’s northern provinces,” he added.