Amazon Founder, Jeff Bezos Hails Buhari In Glasgow

President Muhammadu Buhari has been hailed by the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, in Glasgow, Scotland, for his leadership role in restoring degraded lands in the country, describing the commitment to restore four million hectares as exemplary.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement stated that Bezos joined President Buhari, French President Emmanuel Macron, Prince Charles and the Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani at a COP 26 side event entitled “Accelerating land restoration in Africa, the case of the Great Green Wall (GGW) initiative.”.

Garba stated that Bezos while heaping praises on the Nigerian leader at the event co-hosted by the French President, his Mauritanian counterpart and the Prince of Wales, said: “We are fortunate to have President Buhari of Nigeria with us today. Nigeria plays a critical role in the restoration movement and has pledged to restore 4 million hectares of degraded lands.

“This kind of ambition coming from Africa’s largest economy underscores just how vital this issue is.’’

The Bezos Earth Fund has a 10 billion dollar fund to allocate money to projects fighting climate change.

President Buhari also used the occasion of his address to appeal to fellow leaders to continue to make concerted efforts at land restoration.

‘‘I am optimistic that Africa’s ambition of restoring over 100million hectares of degraded landscape for productive agriculture is achievable,’’ he said.

He pledged Nigeria’s unalloyed dedication to expanding the accomplishments of the GGW programme in Africa from the enviable status attained under the leadership of President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania.

‘‘Together we commit to the transformative process of restoring the African degraded landscape and ultimately the continent’s environment,’’ he said.