Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president of the federal repuyblic of Nieria, said on Wednesday that Nigeria has failed the globe in general and the African continent in particular.
This was said by Obasanjo in Abuja during his keynote speech at the launch of the book “Reclaiming the Jewel of Africa,” authored by Olusegun Aganga, a former minister of industry, trade, and investment who also served as minister of finance.
In front of former and current top government officials, President Bola Tinubu released the book in person via his Special Advisor on Monetary Policy, Olawale Edun.Obasanjo claimed more Nigerians are falling into poverty as a result of terrible policies, ineffective ones, and no policies in his comments, which were delivered virtually.
Even though no names were named, Obasanjo’s remark comes shortly after President Tinubu’s elimination of gasoline subsidies, which some have praised as a wise choice made without enough consultation.
The former president said that the country had fallen short of expectations since gaining independence in 1960 and that the current state of instability and the high number of children who are not in school had brought Nigeria to a precipice.
“Over the last 63 years, we have fallen short of expectations,” Obasanjo stated. In addition to disappointing the world, we have also failed Africa, the black race, and ourselves.
Nevertheless, he said, “What Segun (Aganga) has sought to define, itemise, and advocate in his book is the way ahead.But admitting our failure is the first step in setting a new path for ourselves since we haven’t always placed the round peg in the round hole.
“We are being carried along by ego and emotion of self, selfishness and self-centredness, ethnic and religious jingoism, with a total lack of understanding of the world we live in and gross misunderstanding of what development entails and how to move fast and continuously on the trajectory of development.”
Obasanjo recognized two pressing problems that were linked in terms of contributing to overall development. “These are peace and security, and without justice, equality, and an inclusive society, we cannot accomplish them. And being honest with ourselves, for the previous 15 years, we haven’t performed well on these metrics.
“I’ll also bring up the subject of education, where more than 20 million kids who ought to be in school aren’t. The repercussions of that for tomorrow may be predicted without the aid of an oracle. The root reasons of banditry, Boko Haram, abduction, and other organized crimes are not difficult to find.
By implementing excellent policies carelessly or badly, or by having no policies at all, he said, “We are living dangerously on a keg of gunpowder and pushing more people into poverty.”
A organization called Arewa Citizens Watch for Good Governance (ACWGG) has issued a 10-day deadline for the government to eliminate hunger and lower gas prices. The organization threatened to “lead hungry, depressed, and frustrated Nigerians to a massive civil and peaceful protest” if the government did not heed their demands.
In a statement, the group’s chairman, Aliyu Sani, voiced his serious worry about Nigeria’s rising energy costs and the nation’s mounting hunger, which have increased instances of petty thievery and an extremely high mortality rate in the north and the nation at large.
Sani demanded the immediate dismissal of Mele Kolo Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), for “misleading President Tinubu into removing the gasoline subsidy without the provision of palliative measures.”
Additionally, the organization demanded a thorough inquiry into the subsidy system and the claims of corruption in the oil and gas industry, which it cited as “evidenced by the suspicious drop in daily consumption of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and the astronomic rise in the general revenue of the country.”
The recent growth in NNPCL’s production, without equivalent investment in the firm, “has instead exposed the pervasive corruption within the sector,” the Arewa youth leader claims. We find it disconcerting that NNPCL declared a meager output volume that falls short of our OPEC quota notwithstanding the absence of any big disasters in the nation.
The Nigerian people, in our opinion, deserve better. It is only right that the advantages of these resources be felt by all inhabitants, not just a chosen few, in a country endowed with an abundance of natural resources. The oil and gas industry has been run poorly and corruptly, which has hampered economic progress and increased the financial burden on common Nigerians. As Nigerians cope with the suffering brought on by the abrupt termination of the subsidy, we anticipate the government to pursue those who have benefited from the murky subsidy scheme. Our people cannot continue to go hungry while those who caused the circumstances that called for the subsidy to be removed continue to enjoy the benefits of their positions.
Just two months after the termination of the gas subsidy, Nigerians are being urged to deal with the growing fuel prices, and the organized labor movement claims it is unable to stop the product’s exorbitant prices.
Festus Osifo, President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), noted that the complete implementation of deregulation as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which he said in Abuja yesterday, has liberalized the price of gasoline.
Osifo intimated that the government has not taken any decisive action to guarantee the committees perform their job regarding the non-inauguration of the committees established by the government to consider palliatives, even though there are around two weeks left in the schedule provided to TUC by its executives.
“As we speak, the Federal Government has not taken any action to ensure that the committees start working,” he said. You may remember that the TUC told the government eight weeks to stop talking about palliatives, but nothing significant has transpired as of yet. The committees have yet to start working, and the TUC’s timeframe will expire in the middle of the next month. However, considering how hard several of the subcommittees have been working, we think there is still time. As a labor movement, we are prepared to work through the night and on the weekends to see that this duty is finished.
Osifo said that while the Federal Government may not have any influence over gasoline prices at the pump, it may nevertheless decide to protect the naira in order to stabilize prices for goods and services, particularly energy.
He said: “Because it is a legal issue, the labor movement can no longer campaign against the high cost of gasoline. Do we, as a nation, favor or oppose deregulation? That is the issue we must resolve. If we don’t want it, the government can keep regulating the price while we deal with the repercussions. If we want deregulation, the price will no longer be set by the government. We’re now in that position.
“However, as I have often stated, the floating of the naira is the biggest threat facing the nation today. I am not aware of any nation in the world that lets its currency float free of assistance. The depreciation of the naira is what led to the high price of gasoline.
Prices are influenced by manufacturing costs. In this instance, the price will increase as the cost of crude oil increases on the world market. The price of gasoline will therefore increase as soon as the value of the naira plummets. It increased as a result when the naira rose from N460 to a dollar to almost N850 at the present time. It is a result of how the market works.
