Ayodele Olalere
The governorship candidate of the Accord Party in the 2019 / 2023 General Elections in Oyo State, Hon. Saheed Ajadi, has lent his voice to the current economic woes being experienced in the country, saying that for Nigeria to be better, Nigerians must be patriotic.
Hon Ajadi stated this, while speaking on “State of the Nation,” during a media briefing in Lagos.
Ajadi stated that an economy where every citizen sells their products at any price they desire without monitoring by the government is not the best.
He then attributed the hike in prices of commodities to the inability of the government to regulate the prices of goods.
“As you all know, our nation is at a crossroad with the economic challenges facing every household.. The ambition of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came at a time when the nation’s economy was almost in comatose because the previous administration had borrowed so much money and could not sustain the economy the way it was going,” he said.
Ajadi said that the removal of fuel subsidy was an imperative measure to address the near collapse of the economy, noting that the previous administration did not even budge for subsidy in 2023.
He said further that the unification of the exchange rate was a way of ending racketeering in the market.
He stressed that the prices of goods had risen with negative implications which have been largely responsible for the high inflation and high cost of food.
“However, as a patriotic Nigerian and a member of an opposition party, I strongly believe that this is the time we must open our eyes to the reality on ground,” he said.
Ajadi said that the nation’s economic crisis had been there for more than 20 years, even during the time of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
While revealing that one of the leaders of the PDP persuaded him to vie for House of Reps ticket, he said that he insisted that he wanted his voice to be heard in the senate and not in the green chamber.
“I projected at the age of 25 that Nigeria was going to be like this if we didn’t intervene and be patriotic. Many of us expect a miracle. I must commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for being the first President to declare what ought to have been declared 20 years ago. He is a bold man and we have to commend him for that.
“The International Monetary Fund loan collected by former Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Gbadamosi Babangida in 1985 had spiral effects on the naira and we have been having problems since then,” he stated.
He accused former president Obasanjo of selling the nation’s properties by way of privatization.
“Nigerian Airways, and GRA Ikeja in Lagos were sold. Quite a number of the country’s properties were sold. A plot of land in GRA, Ikeja was sold at N1 million, but presently, one plot of land is sold for N1 billion in the same area. They sold the smelting plant built at over N30 billion for N130 million,” he stated.
He therefore challenged those who worked with previous administrations to explain why they sold all the nation’s properties.
“I don’t understand the kind of economy we are expecting with that. Now that we face reality, we have nothing except crude oil. What are you expecting from the President? He’s not going to perform miracles. The only miracle he has to perform is the reality and the first reality he has told us. We should buckle up and that is what I have done since I started contesting for election in my 30s. You can’t complain from your house and expect Nigeria to be developed. We should be patriotic to help Nigeria,” he said.
On the Lagos – Calabar road, he commended the President for starting the project which he said had been in the pipeline for over 40 years.
According to him, with the project, Nigerians could wake up in Calabar and be in Lagos in 9 hours, adding that it means that someone can farm in Calabar and bring his or her farm produce to Mile 12 market to sell within hours.
“Lots of agricultural produce is wasting away because of the lack of a good road network. Those are the key indices of development. I will advise President Tinubu to do more roads. Maiduguri to Port Harcourt road could still be constructed.”