President Bola Tinubu has admitted that there is hardship in
the country.
He, however, blamed it on some actions and inaction of past
governments.
Tinubu made this known after the Forum of Former Presiding
Officers of the National Assembly, led by former Senate President Ken Nnamani,
paid him a visit in Abuja.
In his remarks, Tinubu expressed confidence that Nigeria can
progress through collaboration and inclusiveness.
“Regardless of party differences of the past and difficulty
of the present, you still believe in me and what we all plan for this country.
“I thank you very much; no one will do it better than us. I
have travelled the world and seen how developed countries have done it for
themselves through collaboration, inclusiveness and financial structure.
“Yes, there is hardship, but how did we get here? What did
we do when we had very high crude production?
“We neglected our communities; we neglected the goose that
lays the golden eggs; we forgot even to give them a good standard of living.
“We forgot to educate our children. Go round and look at the
dilapidated schools. The education environment must be decent enough for pupils
to want to learn.
“We can complain from now till eternity that the school
enrolment is low. But did we do anything to encourage the enrolment process? We
must ask ourselves because it is a matter of conscience,” he said.
This comes as Nigeria grapples with economic hardship
occasioned by the twin policies of fuel subsidy removal and naira floating.
The removal of petrol subsidy on the president’s first day
in office had tripled the pump price of fuel.
As of Friday, filling stations in Abuja sell a litre of
petrol at between N950 and N1,100.
Additionally, the move to unify exchange rate windows, also
a day one policy, pushed the naira to an all-time low, trading above N1,500 to
a dollar from N600 to one dollar he met on May 29, 2023.
As of Friday, the naira to dollar stood at N1544 at the
official market.
Inflation also worsened under Tinubu, which stood at 32.15
per cent despite easing for two consecutive times.
Earlier this week, former military Head of State, General
Abdulsalami Abubakar, took a critical look at the living conditions of most
Nigerians and concluded that “the hardship in the land is getting out of
control.”
The former head of state lamented: “Everybody is crying
about this hardship and it seems to be getting out of control. People cannot
afford three square meals, the issue of transportation, the hike in fuel price,
the hike in school fees for the children and the lack of funds in everybody’s
pocket are making life difficult for everybody.”
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