President Muhammadu Buhari has commended the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of social networking website, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, for sharing his wealth of knowledge with Nigerian youths, and inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs.

The commendation is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.

Adesina said Buhari made the commendation he received the Internet entrepreneur at the State House. The Facebook CEO seized the opportunity of his visit to Aso Rock to tell the President why he came to Nigeria. Zuckerberg said he was in the country to promote the penetration of “fast and cheap” internet connectivity, express-wifi, that would help people to create online businesses and reduce poverty.

He said that President Buhari told Zuckerberg that the various meetings he held with Nigerian youths since his arrival were timely, as the country was already exploring opportunities to spur development through entrepreneurship.

Buhari said “Nigeria has always been identified as a country with great potential for growth, especially with our youth population, but now we are moving beyond the potential to reality.

“I am impressed by your simplicity in sharing your knowledge and wealth with those with less income,’’ he said.

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

He said “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.”

In his remarks, 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.

He added that “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.” NAN