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Monday, December 9, 2024

Updated: Nigeria’s economy would have been worse if Atiku was President

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Atiku mocks, defends role in Obasanjo administration

President Bola Tinubu on Sunday said that the economic situation in Nigeria would have been worse today if former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had won the 2023 election.

But Atiku responded by mocking with an emoji the President that his only response after he took him on was to opt for prayers as a policy direction.

“Isn’t it fascinating how the so-called “tested” Tinubu administration’s only policy response seems to be a national prayer led by the First Lady and the NSA? Just a mere 24 hours after I proposed my alternative solutions! What a bold strategy!
“In my humble interpretation of the scriptures, prayer indeed serves as a noble path to follow. However, the sacred texts also counsel us to engage in diligent labour and hard work,” Atiku said on Monday.

In an initial response to Atiku’s drubbing on the manner of the withdrawal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the Naira by the present administration, Presidential spokesperson, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, rubbished Atiku’s handling of the economy under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, took a swipe at Obasanjo, and also blamed former President Muhammadu Buhari  for the economic malaise Tinubu inherited.

His full statement read: “We have just read a statement credited to former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in which he tried to discredit President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform programmes while pushing his untested agenda as a better alternative.

“First, Alhaji Atiku’s ideas, which lacked details,  were rejected by Nigerians in the 2023 poll.

“If he had won the election, we believe he would have plunged Nigeria into a worse situation or run a regime of cronyism. 

“Abubakar lost the election partly because he vowed to sell the NNPC and other assets to his friends.  Nigerians have not forgotten this, nor would they be comforted by Atiku’s antecedents when he ran the economy in the first term of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government between 1999 and 2003. 

“As vice president, Atiku supervised a questionable privatisation programme. He and his boss demonstrated a lack of faith in our educational system, and both went to establish their universities while they allowed ours to flounder. 

“Talk is cheap. It is easy to pontificate and deride a rival’s programmes even when there are irrefutable indices that the economic reforms yield positives despite the temporary difficulties. 

“Despite the futile attempt to hoodwink Nigerians again in his statement, it is gratifying that the former Vice President could not repudiate the economic reforms pursued by the Tinubu administration because they are the right things to do. 

His advocacy for a gradualist approach only showed that he was not in tune with the enormity of problems inherited by President Tinubu. 

“It is so easy to paint a flowery to-do list. It is expected of an election loser. President Tinubu met a country facing several grave challenges. Fuel subsidies were siphoning away enormous resources we could ill afford, and there was criminal arbitrage in the forex market. 

“No leader worth his name will allow these two economic disorders to persist without moving to end them surgically.

“While advocating for gradual reforms may sound appealing, Tinubu took measures that should have been taken decades ago by Alhaji Abubakar and his boss when they had the opportunity. 

“Alhaji Abubakar calls for empathy and a human face to reforms. We have no problem with this as it resonates well with our administration’s focus. President Tinubu has consistently emphasised the need for compassion and protection of the most vulnerable. 

“The administration has prioritised social safety nets and targeted support for those affected by recent economic transitions.”

In his response on Monday, Atiku said: “I have taken note of the initial responses highlighting the striking disparity between President Tinubu’s faltering economic policies and the alternatives I have proposed. It is exciting to witness such a vigorous debate on these critical matters, and I sincerely hope that this discourse will ultimately benefit Nigeria and its citizens.
“Like many fellow Nigerians, I firmly believe that we find ourselves in this current economic turmoil due to the Tinubu administration’s hasty ascent to power, devoid of a coherent plan.
“In stark contrast, my team not only devised a comprehensive Recovery Plan, but also welcomed significant input from Nigerians, ensuring that our approach was inclusive and well-considered.
“Isn’t it fascinating how the so-called “tested” Tinubu administration’s only policy response seems to be a national prayer led by the First Lady and the NSA? Just a mere 24 hours after I proposed my alternative solutions! What a bold strategy! 🤣
“In my humble interpretation of the scriptures, prayer indeed serves as a noble path to follow. However, the sacred texts also counsel us to engage in diligent labour and hard work.
“It is therefore uncharitable for Tinubu’s team to claim that my proposals remain untested. What remains unproven is the erratic, trial-and-error nature of the policies so far implemented by this administration, which elucidates our present predicament.
“Let us not forget that under our economic stewardship between 1999-2003, Nigeria soared to the pinnacle of Africa’s economies, while their administration has relegated us to a disheartening fourth position.
“The average GDP rate under the Obasanjo administration that I served in was 6.59% and peaked at 15% in 2002; 7.98% under the late Yar’Adua administration and 4.8% under Jonathan compared to the dismal 2.8% of the so-called “tested” Tinubu era. Enough of the pains of the shambolic “bolekaja” economic  policy prescriptions!
“We cannot hope to tax our way out of the economic quagmire wrought by these misguided experimental policies of a novice administration. Numerous nations, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Monaco (an EU territory with a zero-income tax policy), among many others, have emerged as economic powerhouses by fostering growth through lower taxation. Why then are we fixated on inflicting further hardship upon an already struggling populace?
“One can only speculate that Tinubu’s government is anchored to a mere Tea-plan, which can only lead to a T-pain.
“Furthermore, let me emphasize that the citizens who cast their votes in the 2023 presidential election are well aware that I did not lose; rather, we find ourselves in this predicament because the election was criminally stolen from the Nigerian people.”
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