Maroc - MOCKINBIRD.COM.NG - A La Une - 21/Jul 08:53

Nigerians Should Be Patriotic If They Want Development- Saheed Ajadi

 ... Advises Federal Government On Price MonitoringThe governorship candidate of the Accord Party in the 2019 / 2023 General Elections in Oyo State, Hon. Saheed Ajadi, has lent his voice to the current economic woes being experienced in the country, saying that for Nigeria to be better, all Nigerians must be patriotic.Hon Ajadi stated this, while speaking on "State of the Nation," during a media briefing in Lagos. The  Accord Party governorship candidate for 2019 and 2023 in Oyo State ,stated that an economy, where everyone sells his or her products at any price he or she desires without monitoring by the government is not the best.He then attributed hike in prices of commodities to the inability of the government to monitor the prices of goods."As you all know, our nation is at a crossroad with the economic challenges facing every household."The ambition of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came at a time when the nation's economy was almost at comatose because there previous administration had borrowed so much money and we were aware that they could not sustain the economy the way it was going," he said.Hon. Ajadi further stated that the removal of fuel subsidy was an imperative measure to address the near collapse of the economy to stop the hemorrhage of the nation, saying that the previous administration did not even budgeted for subsidy in 2023.He said further that the unification of the exchange rate was a way of ending racketeering in the market.He stressed that the prices of goods had gone haywire, and that all these measures no doubt have implications on the economy and that they have been largely responsible for the crises which he said we are facing now in terms of inflation and high cost of food."However, as a patriotic Nigerian and a member of an opposition party, I strongly believe that this is the time we must open our eyes to the reality on ground," he said.He said that the nation's economic crisis had been there for more than 20 years, even during the time of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under former president Olusegun Obasanjo.He further described the time as challenging, saying that some of them didn't have a say in what transpired at the time even as members of the ruling party then, which he said he left in 2010.While revealing that one of the leaders of the PDP persuaded him to go for House of Reps ticket, he said that he insisted that's  he wanted his voice to be heard in the senate and not in the green chamber.He said further that he didn't go into politics because he was jobless, saying that he was gainfully employed by the federal government and that he resigned from his job, when he wanted his voice to be heard through legislation in the senate.He said that he left his job because he realised that the way the country was going and running under former president Olusegun Obasanjo was bad, and that there was no way the nation wouldn't face what it is facing now."I projected at the age of 25 that Nigeria was going to be like this if we didn't intervene and be patriotic."Many of us expect a miracle. I must commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for being the first President to declare what ought to have been declared 20 years ago. He is a bold man and we have to commend him for that."We have been on rental economy since 1995. Obasanjo told us then to start importing and subsidising fuel."The International Monetary Fund loan collected by former Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Gbadamosi Babangida in 1985 had spiral effects on naira and we have been having problem since then," he stated.The Accord Party guber candidate said that former president Obasanjo sold the nation's properties by way of privatization.He said that he had granted quite a number of interviews, where he said that the nation was taking a wrong approach because you can't sell all your properties and claim to have value.He said that common sense dictates that you must have property (assets) to do business and be able to succeed as a government."Nigerian Airways, and GRA Ikeja in Lagos were sold. Quite a number of the country's properties were sold. A plot of land in GRA, Ikeja was sold at N1 million, but presently, one plot of land is sold for N1 billion in the same area."They sold the smelting plant built at over N30 billion for N130 million. There's no rocket science in business, what did you expect with that," he stated .He therefore challenged those, who worked with previous administrations to explain why they sold all the nation's properties."I don't understand the kind of economy we are expecting with that. Now that we face reality, we have nothing except crude oil. What are you expecting from the President? He's not going to perform miracle. The only miracle he has to perform is the reality and the first reality he has told us."Okay, 'I am your president', we are going to work it out together." He told us the reality on ground. We should buckle up and that is what I have done since I started contesting for election in my 30s. You can't complain from your house and expect Nigeria to be developed, you should be patriotic to help Nigeria."In Nigeria, there's no price monitoring, the government is not part of the pricing structure. It's now we are trying to put square pegs in square holes, it was never like that before. You can't grow tomatoes from the soil of the country and tell anyone that there we have water problem and because of that you hike the price, it was never like that before."You take onions to Mile 12 in Lagos and you want to sell it any amount you like, the government should arrest the person and seize his or her goods, but there's no monitoring any more. So, we need pricing structure that must be supervised by the government, we need Nigerians to be patriotic to ourselves."Nigerians should stop using their mouths to punish themselves with negative words. I am speaking today because of Nigerians, not because of the government. We can change the government with our attitude, we must love ourselves before Nigeria can develop," he said.He however, commended President Bola Tinubu over the Lagos - Calabar Expressway, which he said had been in the pipeline for over 40 years.According to him, with the project, someone could wake up in Calabar and be in Lagos in 9 hours, adding that it means that someone can farm in Calabar and bring his or her farm produce to Mile 12 market to sell within hours.He said; "I want to advise Mr President to build superhighways for Nigerians because we are going to unbundle clusters of economy through that. Anywhere in the world,  road network is a strategic plan to have a get away plan to keep economy moving  and get agricultural goods to where they are needed at every time. "Lots of agricultural produce are wasting away because of lack of good road network. Those are the key indices of development. I will advise President Tinubu to do more roads. Maiduguri to Port Harcourt road could still be constructed."