President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria is open to French citizens who wish to leave France and seek greener pastures in Africa’s most populous country.

“Those who come from France seeking opportunities in Nigeria are today welcomed with open arms,” says Mr Buhari in an opinion published in Paris Daily L’Opinion on Friday.

Mr Buhari, who is attending the Paris Peace Forum in France, said Nigeria’s growing population is a huge market for France to take advantage of.

“This expansion only augurs more, given Nigeria’s population is projected to grow by 2050 to the same size as the European Union, and further to become the second-largest in the world by the close of the century,” Mr Buhari said, adding that “This great market is France’s opportunity.”

Mr Buhari’s portrayal of Nigeria as a land of opportunities for French citizens comes amidst the economic hardship forcing many Nigerians to seek better lives abroad.

In August, in a bid to leave the country for better opportunities, close to 500 Nigerian doctors participated in a recruitment exercise organised by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health.

Peoples Gazette reported how operatives of the State Security Service, to disperse the applicants, opened fire outside Sheraton Hotel in Abuja, the venue of the recruitment exercise.