Former Military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, has sounded the alarm over the worsening economic hardship in Nigeria, as he urged President Tinubu to act swiftly.
He gave this view at his uphill residence in Minna on Tuesday when he received the leadership of the Campaign for Democracy and Human Rights led by Comrade Abdullahi Mohammed Jabi who paid him a birthday visit.
The rights group asked Gen Abubakar to prevail over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to find a solution to the harsh economic situation in the land.
General Abdulsalami who took a critical look at the living conditions of the majority of Nigerians concluded that “The hardship in the land is getting out of control”
According to him, “Everybody is crying about this hardship and it seems to be getting out of control, people cannot afford three square meals, the issue of transportation, the hike in fuel, the hike in school fees for the children and the lack of funds in everybody’s pocket is making life difficult for everybody, Nigerians are suffering.
“We will continue to encourage the government to introduce measures to soften the hardship” adding that the federal state and local governments should see how they can cushion this economic hardship.
The former military Head of State however disclosed that he belongs to a forum that had made recommendations to the federal government on the way out of the economic hardship in the land.
“I would like to inform you that in some of the proposals we have given to the government on another platform, we indicated that giving Palliatives is not the answer to the high prices of food and other items in the country.
“There is a need for the government to flood and saturate the communities with food, let them (Government) buy food and sell it at lesser prices to the people so that people will try to buy some of these food items depending on their pockets/ income.
“We have passed these recommendations to the government, we hope they will implement them,” he added.
Earlier the leader of the delegation Comrade Abdullahi Jabi indicated that they were in his residence to rejoice with him on the celebration of his birthday and prayed for long life and good health for him.
Jabi solicited the support of the former Nigerian leader for the implementation of some of its programs especially in the area of mobilization of Nigerians for active participation in governance.
He drew the attention of their host to the prevailing hunger in the land and urged him to help prevail on the federal government to solve the problem.
(National Update)
