Buhari Praises Zuckerberg’s Simplicity

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja applauded the founder of Facebook, Mr Mark Zuckerberg, for sharing his wealth of knowledge with Nigerian youths, and inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs.

The President also commended Mr Zuckerberg for his “simplicity in sharing [his] knowledge and wealth with those with less income” in the society.

Mr Buhari, who received owner of the popular social networking website at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, further said the various meetings Mr Zuckerberg held with Nigerian youths since his arrival were most timely as the country was already exploring opportunities to spur development through entrepreneurship.

“Nigeria has always been identified as a country with great potentials for growth, especially with our youthful population, but now we are moving beyond the potentials to reality,” Mr Buhari told the Facebook founder.

Mr President noted that the simplicity and magnanimity of the entrepreneur, who is among the world’s richest men, had also challenged the culture of lavish wealth display and impulsive spending that had become peculiar to Nigerians.

“In our culture, we are not used to seeing successful people appear like you. We are not used to seeing successful people jogging and sweating on the streets.

“We are more used to seeing successful people in air-conditioned places. We are happy you are well-off and simple enough to always share,” Mr Buhari.

In his remarks, Mr Zuckerberg said he was impressed by the interest, energy and entrepreneurial spirit displayed by young Nigerians in all the ICT camps that he had visited.

“I was highly impressed by the talent of the youths in the Co-creation Hub in Yaba. I was blown away by their talent and the level of energy that I saw,” he said.

Mr Zuckerberg said he was in the country to promote the penetration of “fast and cheap” internet connectivity, Express-Wifi that would help people create online businesses and reduce poverty.