The Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu has pleaded with Nigerians to show understanding, be patriotic and exercise patience with President Ahmed Bola Tinubu and his administration in the ongoing Reform Agenda.
According to him, President Tinubu is undertaking reforms through his renewed Hope agenda to rescue the country from total collapse and would be admired by all.
Issa-Onilu made the plea in Ilorin the Kwara State capital, North Central Nigeria when he featured on the 46th Media Parliament of the State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
At the programme which was themed “Can Citizens Still Be Hopeful in a Renewed Hope Era,” the NOA boss disclosed that previous administrations chose to mend the cracks in the building instead of pulling down it completely for reconstruction.
He explained that President Tinubu opted for the reconstruction of the nation to give it a solid foundation, reminding Nigerians that reforms often come with pain but assured that the ongoing reforms would yield fruit.
The Director General noted that the withdrawal of subsidy on fuel, for instance, has caused a significant rise in the monthly allocation shared among the three tiers of government from the federation accounts.
Issa-Onilu added that with the availability of financial resources, many sub-national units of government have been able to execute infrastructural projects to the admiration of their citizens.
“We are anchoring the hope of this country on the fact that potential has always been there. If we have not realized it, it is due to our own fault. So, there is a cause to be hopeful. One day somebody would come and ensure that we realize that potential. That is why the hope has been anchored.
“In this era, the second leg of the hope where we also anchor that hope is the fact that we know who President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is, and I can tell you on my honour that I have had the privilege of interacting with him closely in a way that I can pontificate on any matter that has to do with him.
“And for those of us who have not had the privilege, we can take Lagos as our example. Lagos today, as I tell people, is on autopilot. There is no way anyone will be Governor and wouldn’t perform because it has become systemic, programmatic; it is plug and play. You only need to get it and continue from where the last person stopped. Everything you see happening in Lagos was in the blueprint. He started it, laid the foundation and successive governments have been coming in to continue and review.
“Why is Nigeria not in that situation. We have not had the privilege of a President that understands what it means to govern a problematic environment as ours. So, in 2023, the President climbed the rostrum, held his microphone and pronounced that subsidy (on fuel) is gone. If we begin to unpack that statement, it means a lot, and what has happened in the last 16, 17, 18 months, has attested to what that statement meant not only to the President but to the rest of this country.
“I made a statement in one of my recent interactions, which went viral. I said Nigeria has been like a building and all of us Nigerians like tenants inside the building. And the President or the government as caretaker. All the government that had come realized that the building has cracks and the danger of collapse was apparent.
“The building has become so bad that the only way out was to bring the building down, lay a solid foundation and rebuild. But where are you going to put the tenants during that period? The more they mended the cracks, the more the building was threatening to collapse. And thank God, if we had continued that way, God forbid, the rest of Africa will not contain the Exodus.”
According to him, “With the situation that we are, we have journeyed through a lot and tortuous road. So, we had a President who says I’m not going to patch or mend anything otherwise the building will eventually collapse on our heads. What we need to do is to bring this building down, lay a solid foundation and put in place a solid building that all of us, when we move in, can be comfortable and safe”.
He highlighted that the present administration is steadily steering the country out of its revenue generation challenges.
“Today, the nation can boast of a 63 per cent debt servicing ratio with about 37 per cent revenue to spend, compared to what was obtainable in the past.”
Issa-Onilu further emphasised that investor confidence has been restored in the stock market, reinvigorating economic activities.
He added that the country’s revenue base has improved, with crude oil production reaching over 1.57 million barrels per day for the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The administration of President Tinubu has reconciled the factions in Ogoni land, which had existed for over a decade, assuring that very soon Nigeria’s petroleum supply to OPEC would increase to 2 million barrels per day.
He also disclosed that the Presidency approved 14 requests for NOA, containing seven pillars that Nigerians must uphold stating that the Nigerian Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps, and other security agencies would integrate the Nigerian Charter into their training programmes.
Earlier in his address, the Chairman of the NUJ Kwara State Council, Mallam Abdullateef Ahmed, stated that the media engagement was designed to educate the public on government policies and programs.
He noted that the platform provides an opportunity for citizens to ask questions and participate in discussions on issues affecting them.
The NUJ chairman however appealed to the government to implement policies and programmes that would have a direct impact on the lives of the people.
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