President Bola Tinubu has said that while he knows that there is hardship in the land, some actions of the past were responsible.
The president spoke at a meeting with the Forum of Former Presiding Officers of the National Assembly, led by former Senate President, Ken Nnamani on Friday.
Expressed confidence that the country can progress through collaboration and inclusiveness, Tinubu said, ”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.”
Several actions taken since the advent of the current administration have had disastrous impacts on the country and its citizens.
Notable among them are the removal of the petrol subsidy on the president’s first day in office, which has resultantly tripled the pump price of fuel, and the floating of the Naira which saw the currency plummet, at times to a staggering all-time low.
These actions, which resulted in steep inflation and a huge food crisis took a heavy toll on Nigerians, engendering a general outcry, locally coined as ‘Ebi npawa’ (We are hungry).
As the people continue to waddle in poverty and lamentable distress, various stakeholders have continued to task the government to find lasting solutions to the multifarious problems.
The president thanked his visitors and assured them that his administration is focused on delivering tangible results and making a positive difference in the nation’s infrastructure, food and energy security, education, and long-term economic stability.
