By Olalekanl Ola
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Honourable Bukola Ojuade has called on Nigerians to be patient with the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the face of the present economic hardship.
Ojuade made the call while speaking with our reporter yesterday.
According to him, the current hardship facing Nigerian is due to economic downturn in the world. The situation is not peculiar to Nigeria alone but there is need to keep hope alive.
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He said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited bad economy policy from the past administrations, adding that Nigerians should not to be overwhelmed by the economic hardship bedevilling the country but continue to pray for quick economic recovery.
“I want to appeal to Nigerians to exercise patience by giving this government more time to do what they said they would do.
“With the problem that we have, it’s not something that can be solved within a day, one month, or one year. The magnitude of our problems will take us few years to deal with them,” he said.
“I want to appeal to the leadership of NLC to go into negotiation rather than going on strike. Let them go back to the roundtable. We are pleading with the government to do the needful by engaging with the leadership of the NLC to resolve the issues amicably.
“People are hungry, and a hungry man is an angry man. We can’t tell them not to express themselves. Nigerians are not asking for too much. They are asking for food, security, infrastructure such as roads, and a constant power supply for them to live and do their economic activities.”
Ojuade stressed the need for Nigerians to engage in subsistence farming by using the available land within their premises for farming.
This, according to him, will reduce the hunger and suffering affecting the citizens.
“Nigerians are hardworking and can labour to feed their families if encouraged. There is a need for us to encourage Nigerians to go back to farming on any available land around their houses to get basic food.
“The wealth of this country has been captured and hijacked by a few elites. In a situation where a few are richer than the whole nation, the wealth is not properly distributed.
“It’s very dangerous. We need to see what can be done to salvage this nation together,” he added.
He urged Christians and Muslims to pray for peace in the country, stressing that religion should be part of the solution to societal problems and not the cause of their problems.
“We are trusting God that these challenges will be resolved in no distant time,” he said.
On insecurity, he decried the constant attacks in some parts of the country.
call on the government and statutory security agencies to rise to their responsibilities of protecting the lives and property of the citizenry, giving the need to call for effective community policing,” Ojuade said.
He said the president is working to find solutions to the economic challenges facing the nation, adding that Nigerians should be patient.
“In fact, things might not be so good as we want it but I want to appeal to you to show understanding towards the president. He inherited what I can call a failed economy”.
“All the things that have happened before, he cannot change. All he intends to do is to find solutions, and I want to assure you that by the end of his term, the country will be better for it.
“The president needs our cooperation now more than ever before and I assure you that very soon everything will be good with us.”
There have been protests in some states over the rising cost of living.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has also announced a nationwide protest for February 27 and 28 over the economic hardship.
