President Muhammadu Buhari, in the course of the week, won the hearts of African leaders in Niamey, Niger Republic, who shared glowing testimonies of his leadership qualities.

The African leaders were in Niamey for the African Union Summit on Industrialisation and Economic Diversification and the Extraordinary Session on African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The African leaders used the opportunity of the summit to attend the inauguration of the French version of the book, ‘Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria’ in Niamey.

Speaking at the book launch, President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger Republic described Mr Buhari as “an austere man, uncompromising, humble man, an ardent patriot and a committed democrat.”

He also commended the author of the book, John Paden, for writing about the life and work of the Nigerian leader. Mr Paden is a professor of International Studies at George Mason University, Northern Virginia, U.S. 

Shortly after his arrival in Niamey on Thursday, Mr Buhari had earlier inaugurated a 3.8km and 160m wide Boulevard named after him by the Niger Republic government.

While in Niamey, the Nigerian president called on African leaders to tailor their educational system and academic curriculum towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to achieve full industrialisation by 2030.

Mr Buhari made the call on Friday at the AU Summit on Industrialisation and Economic Diversification in Africa.

According to him, STEM is the ”short way” to produce the next generation of managers of an industrialised Africa not dependent on expatriates.

He had earlier inaugurated the Kolmani Integrated Development Project on Tuesday in Bauchi, where he revealed that his administration had attracted over $3 billion in investment in the oil and gas sector at a time of near-zero appetite for investment in fossil energy.

The Kolmani company is a fully integrated in-situ development project comprising upstream production, oil refining, power generation and fertiliser.

The president also inaugurated the redesigned Naira notes of N200, N500 and N1000 at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, where he later presided over the virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

The council approved an extension of the National Anti-Corruption Strategic Document from 2022 to 2026.

It also approved N14.09 billion to augment the contract sum for constructing a road in Kano.

Mr Buhari also joined the international community to condole with Indonesia following a devastating earthquake that killed at least 268 people in the Asian country on Monday.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the 5.6-magnitude quake hit the Cianjur region in West Java, Indonesia, at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles).

The deadly incident also damaged 22,000 houses and displaced 13,000 persons.

Mr Buhari also celebrated his chief of staff, Ibrahim Gambari, who turned 78 on Thursday, noting that Mr Gambari’s congeniality, brilliance and rectitude, have continued to light his path as a scholar, publisher, international diplomat, and technocrat, with records of distinguished service in Nigeria and the United Nations.

(NAN)