The street of the
Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C., burst at the seams with highly
enthusiastic and passionate young Nigerians who thronged out in their numbers
to attend the EbonyLife TV Meet & Greet interactive session with President
Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) in commemoration of the President’s historic visit to
the United States of America.
Guests at the high-level
security, but well attended event, consisted of young technocrats and
professionals across a wide gamut of career and business endeavours, who had
the rare opportunity of sitting face to face with Mr. President in an
atmosphere of intricate and unique decor, joie de vivre and sheer patriotism
set in motion by a highly emotional rendition of Nigeria's national anthem.
One after the other, guests were briefly allowed to introduce
themselves and express their warm wishes for a new Nigeria while the President
listened with rapt and patriarchal attention.
Wishes were variegated and poignant, ranging from a desire to
see a more secure nation and enabling environment for business foreign direct
investment, to a corruption-free and revamped economy and support for the
building of a burgeoning creative economy.
The President, who was accompanied to the event with
Governors RochasOkorocha, Adams Oshiomole, AbiolaAjimobi, UmaruTanko Al-Makura;
former Rivers State Governor RotimiAmaechi; Nigeria's Ambassador to the United
States, Professor Ade Adefuye; Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele; Senior
Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. GarbaShehu; Special Adviser on
Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, among otherspecial dignitaries,
responded by thanking the channel and the Diaspora young professionals for
according him the opportunity of the interactive session.
He also took the opportunity to express his appreciation to
the President of the United States of America for the visit, as well as to
leaders of other Western and African countries for their overwhelming goodwill
and support for Nigeria and his administration.
In response to the many wishes, President Muhammadu Buhari
restated his vow to tackle insurgency and general insecurity, while
emphasizing his determination to build a vibrant economy as well as invest heavily in the
educational sector. Lamenting the terrible state of the nation's treasury and
the huge rot in the system, he reiterated the need to start building Nigeria
all over again from the scratch.
During her opening remarks, host of the Meet & Greet,
Executive Chairman and CEO of EbonyLife TV, thanked Mr. President for allowing
the inclusion of the interactive youth
programme in his very busy US itinerary, in demonstration of
his avowed commitment and passion for the socio-economic development of the
youth.
"We thank you, Mr. President," she said, "for
taking time out of your incredibly busy schedule to meet with our young
professionals in the Diaspora. Mr. President, you are loved and those here
today are just a tiny percentage of the youths that wanted to be here today but
whom we just could not accommodate. Please, Mr. President, our youth truly want
to engage with you. I have been overwhelmed these last few days with the
outpouring of love and participation from them towards this event and I'm sure
they would love another opportunity to make a similar and more inclusive event
possible."
Quoting Mr. President's statement about the youth not only
being the lifeblood and future of any nation, but also his biggest
constituency, the indefatigable media mogul pledged the commitment of her
"Global Black" youth platform to helping to engage and further Mr.
President's vision for the youth demographic.
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