Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the economy, urging consistency in policies and transparent governance for progress.
According to him, two of the three major policies of the present administration were necessary, but were wrongly implemented, thereby impoverishing Nigerians.
Obasanjo made the assertion at a Colloquium themed ‘Nigeria’s Development: Navigating the Way Out of the Current Economic Crisis and Insecurity’, at the Paul Aje Colloquium (PAC) in Abuja, during the weekend.
“Today, government has taken three decisions, two of which are necessary but wrongly implemented and have led to improvisation of the economy and of Nigerians. These are removal of subsidy, closing the gap between black market and official rates of exchange and the third is dealing with 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.
“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 attitudes by the leadership at all levels to gain the confidence and trust of investors who have alternatives.
“Total Energy has gone to invest 6 billion dollars 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,” Obasanjo stated.
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