ABUJA— President Muhammadu Buhari said, yesterday, that Nigerians were suffering today because of the sudden drop in the price of crude oil in the international market.
The President, who stated this while playing host the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, and United Nations’ Under-Secretary-General, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, in Abuja, however, said his administration’s commitment to transparency and accountability was serving the country in good stead, despite severe shortage of resources in the country.
He said: “It has been a very difficult year for Nigeria. Before we came to office, petroleum sold for about $100 per barrel, then it crashed to $37, and now oscillates between $40 and $45 per barrel. “Suddenly, we’re a poor country, but commitment to transparency and accountability is not making people know that there is severe shortage.”
Asking UNFPA to bear with Nigeria in whichever area the country could not live up to its responsibilities at present, the President said exploding population and different cultural practices in the country provided fertile ground for research to organizations such as UNFPA.
He thanked the UN agency for its commitment to saving lives in Nigeria, particularly of women and children. On food security, President Buhari said reports from the North-East of the country were encouraging, saying people were returning to their farmlands, with the guarantee of relative security. Prof Osotimehin, a former Minister of Health in Nigeria, said UNFPA was determined to promote health care facilities across the country, noting that reduction of maternal mortality was achievable, if the country paid more attention to access to health facilities, and had the human resources to run them.
He also encouraged the federal government to commit to providing resources for health care, on a rollover basis, and pledged that the UN would work with the country to provide humanitarian assistance not only in the North-East, but also the Lake Chad basin.”
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Uncontrolled population is one of our bane. Resources are stagnant yet some still believe they must obey a fanthom god to keep several wives and procreate recklessly. A rep member brought it up but shouted down by ja amaa from arewa.
There is a law that criminalizes “spraying” of our currency at public functions, but this law is flagrantly flouted by our people even in the full glare of security personnel. In all cases our, new crispy notes are freely sold and bought for the purpose of this profligacy. How could this happen without the connivance of bank officials who ensure that their “agents” get the new notes always? Yet, we complain that people are dying of hunger. We must show the international community that we are a serious nation in the way we portray ourselves. Perhaps, the WAI that govt plans to reintroduce will hopefully take care of this show of profligacy, wastefulness and foolishness at public functions.
I agree with what you say but it goes beyond just spraying mney at public functions. It’s the general indiscipline in the expenditure by individuals. One man popping 20 bottles of champagne every Friday night for instance. An individual buying or owning 10 or more cars. Even 5 cars is more than enough.
Yes we blame government, but most of the blame lies with us. Solving the problem is not about showing the international community anything. Please let’s leave them out of this. It is not just about law enforcement officers arresting people who spray. It’s about looking inward, asking ourselves important and critical questions and being honest with ourselves.
For instance, man who owns many empty houses needs to ask himself if there is any point in them being empty when he has staff or even members of his own family who need housing. You want to buy !ore cars to add to your large fleet that are just sitting idle most days? Why not out them on Uber, employ drivers and pay them monthly or bi-weekly.
See we all need to start looking out for one another and not just ourselves. Let us leave the government and politicians out of our daily lives for now till the next election. When that time comes we will all make them face public judgement at the polls. Till then it is our duty to get ourselves out of this mess and ensure some sort of distribution of wealth and empowerment of the youths.
Reality is that those in power aren’t feeling our pain nor do they understand what is really going on. How can they, when they live in high castles. It’s time for communities to take things up for themselves and stop complaining. If you complain, you will remain.
I totally disagree with Mr President. Nigeria isn’t poor, we are just an undisciplined country that’s been living above our means. I have on very good authority that the Johnathan administration were made aware of the impending fall in price. Did they hid to it? Absolutely not. Spending and borrowing only increased and this is where we find ourselves.
Our government was like the employee who in January was informed of a reduction on salary to happen in June and instead of saving and cutting back on expenses we he or she decided to borrow money and spend even more recklessly.
Even as the country is, we aren’t poor. We are still well to do but find ourselves still committing the same madness that brought us to the state of things. Instead of spending wisely and cutting costs, money seems to still find its way into individual pockets. Till this day I still see and hear of public servants and politicians spending lavishly at occasions and living the high life.
And what are we doing? Nothing. We are still idolizing, praising and mystifying them. Why?