Niger Coup, Forex Policy, Petrol Subsidy Were ‘Poorly Handled’ By President Tinubu-Obasanjo

Implementation of the decision to remove petrol subsidy, the foreign exchange policy and the nation’s reaction to the military coup in the Republic of Niger were ‘poorly handled’ by President Bola Tinubu, one of his predecessors, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has submitted while adding however that the introduction of the policies in question are necessary.

Team@orientactualmags.com learned that the former president’s Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi noted in a statement he issued on Sunday that Obasanjo said this during the colloquium held in Abuja at the weekend which had as its theme ‘Nigeria’s Development: Navigating the Way Out of the Current Economic Crisis and Insecurity’.

The  former president said, ‘Today, the government has taken three decisions, two of which are necessary but wrongly implemented and have led to the impoverization of the economy and of Nigerians. These are the removal of subsidy, closing the gap between the black market and official rates of exchange and the third is dealing with a military coup in Niger Republic.

The way forward is production and productivity which belief and trust in government leadership will engender. No shortcut to economic progress but hard work and sweat.

The economy does not obey orders, not even military orders. I know that. If we get it right, in two years, we will begin to see the light beyond the tunnel. It requires a change of characteristics, attributes, and attitude by the leadership at all levels to gain the confidence and trust of investors who have alternatives’.

Chief Obasanjo also emphasized the need for the government to do more in respect of attracting foreign investments to the country.

He said, ‘Total Energy has gone to invest $6bn in Angola instead of Nigeria. If the truth must be stated, the present administration has not found the right way to handle the economy to engender confidence and trust for investors to start trooping in.

They know us more than we know ourselves. And now they are laughing at us, not taking us seriously. We have to present ourselves in such a way that we will be taken seriously. If the existing investors are disinvesting and going out of our country, how do we persuade new investors to rush in?

We can be serious if we choose to be but we need to change from transactional leadership in government to transformational and genuine servant leadership.

With change by us, the investors will give us benefit of doubt, and security being taken care of on a sustainable long-term basis; they will start to test the water.

With the right economic policies, attribute of integrity and honesty of purpose, all should be well with all hands on deck and government becomes a catalyst for development, growth and progress.

To conclude on the economy, tinkering with the exchange rate is not the answer. The answer is consistency and continuity in policy to ensure stability and predictability. That way, we will be sure to incentivize domestic and foreign investment.

There must be honesty and transparency in government dealings and contracts and not lying with deception about these issues. When the government is seen as pursuing the right policy, the private sector will go for production and productivity.

Change is possible but it must begin with the leadership’.

The former president also noted that addressing the nation’s economic woes requires a multi-faceted approach that will look into ‘the root causes of ‘these challenges’.

‘Looking at the topic of today’s occasion, the question I would ask is, how do we navigate our way out of these crises and pave the path towards a more secure and prosperous Nigeria? I believe the answer to this requires a multi-faceted approach that addresses the root causes of these challenges. The central questions are: where were we? And how did we get to where we are today?

Firstly, we must know where we are coming from. Our economy has consistently suffered from poor policies, lack of long-term sustainable policies, discontinuity, adhocry, and corruption firmed on personal greed, avarice, incompetence, lack of knowledge and understanding, and lack of patriotism’ he added-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you