Tinubu Not To Blame for Nigeria’s present  economic crisis – Dogara

From Paul Orude Bauchi

Former Speaker of the  House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara is not buying the line of thought that President Bola Tinubu ‘s Reforms have plunged Nigeria into one of its worst economic crises

Rather, Dogara contends that decades of poor leadership, systemic corruption and diversion of local government funds were some of the major factors that plunged Nigeria into the present economic crisis.

He opined that those who despair had been wondering about how Nigeria got into the present unmitigated disaster,

“This is arrived at by decades of weak, wasteful and visionless leadership at all levels of our Government,” he argued.

He spoke on Saturday at the 14th Convocation  of Achievers University, Owo, Ondo state as the Chancellor of the University. 

Dogara acknowledged that over two decades of unbroken democracy has not resulted in adequate security of lives and properties of our citizens, quality infrastructure, decent employment, access to qualitative education, health, shelter, food and water.

He lamented that Nigeria’s democracy has not afforded the generality of citizens adequate standard of living, which are the economic and social rights that enable people to live with dignity and participate fully in society. 

 “There is no hiding place for us any more because Nigeria is no longer the same,” he stated.

“Structural injustices, mass illiteracy, mass poverty, mass unemployment and underemployment have all combined to pull out those we have pushed to the fringes of society to our streets and villages with heavy tolls on Nigerian lives and devastations at all levels. 

“The numbers are staggering: with over 33% unemployment rate, assuming the numbers are not deliberately understated, and nearly 60% youth unemployment, our young people face an uncertain future.

“We now have a critical mass of highly educated Nigerian youths who are questioning everything including questioning the questions themselves.  

“It is obvious that the frustration we are feeding them has reached a tipping point whereby even the illiterates won’t take it anymore, much less the educated youths who have freed themselves from fictional constraints and are asking questions like never before”

The chancellor identified over reliance on oil revenue, removal of fuel subsidy, astronomical increase in interest rates, infrastructural deficit, policy inconsistency and uncertainty, corruption and mismanagement, weak industrial base, decades of systematic looting of LGA funds meant for development  at the grassroots by states which serve as the middlemen in the allocation process and dollarization of the economy as factors that led to loss of monetary policy control, inflation and exchange rate volatility.