Former president Olusegun Obasanjo says everybody in Nigeria must resolve to stop squandering the nation’s commonwealth and be ready for sacrifice in 2016. Obasanjo, who was speaking on Friday in his Christmas message to Nigerians, just after a church service in Abeokuta, Ogun state, said the government had prepared the minds of Nigerians for 2016 by telling them the reality at hand.
He lamented that Nigeria’s fortunes had been squandered in the past, and warned that this must if Nigeria wants to become a “sensible” nation. “We have had downs in our economy before, we have risen up again, we have made money, we have squandered it, and we must now really, if we are sensible at all – there must be an end to squandering,” he said.
“That is the first thing by everybody. I still believe that there are still areas of government that are not serious enough. To make us feel that what is being said is something that would concern all of us.
“It would be very difficult for the people of this country to see that certain arms of government are living in luxury, while the government is asking the ordinary people to continue to make sacrifice.
“I believe that all arms of governments and the private sector should realise that if we are going to shorten the time of this hardship, if we are going to have any cushioning effects for the ordinary people, then there would have to be sacrifice made by those who have to make more sacrifice.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) monetary policy committee has hinted a recession in a part of 2016, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said there would be a change in pump price of petrol.
The National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) has also said Nigerians would have to pay more for electricity from February 2016. The president has assured that over time, all these would get better for the good of “ordinary Nigerians”. For the 2016 budget, N2.3 billion was set aside for former presidents, vice presidents and heads of state, who are 12 in number.
END
Be the first to comment