Economic Hardship: NGO Begs Nigerians to Be patient with President Tinubu

In the face of dire economic realities, Nigerians have been enjoined to remain patient with the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with promises of positive change to the citizens.

A woman welfare enthusiast and Executive Director of the International Women Communication Centre, (IWCC), Hajia Nimota Goroso Giwa made the call while speaking with newsmen in Ilorin.

She stated that Nigerians should be patient with President Tinubu, whom she described as a passionate man who is prepared for the job and can turn the fortunes of the country around.

“I’m calling on all Nigerians to be patient with him (Tinubu). I see him as someone with passion and one who is prepared for this job, but we need to give him time, and he can turn things around. Let us see what he has in stock for us; he is ready for the job, but we need to give him time,” she said.

Tinubu inherited an ailing economy

Giwa further noted that the president inherited an ailing economy with lots of challenges, and he came with a lot of ambition and passion for the job. When someone is passionate about something, he will try his best to make an impact.

“What I observe is that every leader around the world wants to succeed; no one wants to fail, but there are a lot of sycophants that mislead and misinform them on the true picture of things; these are some of the challenges our leaders have,” she added.

The Executive Director also urged the Federal Government to abandon its current palliative programmes and rather promote agricultural practices amongst the people to enhance food security in the country.

She said, “We need a working economy not the sharing of palliative going on, we don’t need to be sharing raw food with the people rather, the government should be sharing seeds with the people and recalled that in the past,  Nigerians use to hear of operation feed the Nation but what we need now is operation feed yourself.

“Civil servants should be planting what they will eat because the palliative is like giving them handouts like beggars, but when you empower them with seedlings and land, you’re giving them the opportunity to feed themselves. If everyone is producing food, nobody will be in the market; there will be a surplus of food, she explained further. 

While identifying the current insecurity problem as the main challenge facing agriculture in the country, Giwa advised the federal government to invest in community policing and also bring traditional rulers on board.

“One of the issues militating against agriculture and food production is the problem of insecurity, so I want the government to invest more in community policing while they should also give the traditional rulers the opportunity to police their communities, they are the custodians of the communities, they know their people and every nook and cranny of the community.

“The government should work with traditional rulers and civil society organisations and launch a programme of ‘know your neighbour’, ‘when you see something, say something’ and that is the standard in the advanced countries; we all should be policing ourselves,” Giwa stressed further.

The Activist also blamed the current security challenges facing Nigeria on the problem of unemployment, which is affecting the youth, and therefore urged the government to address the perennial problem.

She said, “We are only addressing the issue of security on the surface; when there is a problem, we need to address the root cause, and that will minimise or solve the problem. What I mean by that is that, because of unemployment, people do anything to survive; they take to crime to survive.

“I think the major causes of insecurity are unemployment, a lack of youth engagement, and the poverty rate. If the government is serious about tackling insecurity, they need to address the issue of unemployment.”

Giwa further bemoans the rate of unemployment in the country, noting that “the new university graduates going into the labour market are at risk of being unemployed, and it is saddening. I pray silently that every parent will eat the fruit of their labour.”

Dominica Nwabufo