Prof. Itsey Sagay (SAN), the former Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption under former President Muhammadu Buhari, has accused President Bola Tinubu of being responsible for Nigeria’s current economic crisis.
During an interview with Daily Independent regarding the nation’s economic state, the human rights activist and legal expert expressed his view that President Tinubu’s “terrible mistakes” in his policies, including the abrupt removal of fuel subsidy and the decision to float the naira, have been major factors contributing to the hardship experienced by Nigerians.
Prof. Sagay said: “Tinubu started on the wrong footing and acted in haste on his inauguration day. That is what triggered the hardship Nigerians are going through right now. Saying subsidy is gone was such a hasty statement when he hadn’t put up any arrangement, any plan to shore up the economy.
“That was the greatest mistake he made so far as the president and it robbed him of the normal enjoyment of one hundred days honeymoon. His decision and how he started have plunged the country into misery. I was interviewed after he won the election for advice on what to do about the subsidy and I said I agreed that the subsidy should go but it has to stay until we start refining petrol internally. I said we have to wait until Dangote Refinery or one of those refineries starts refining and then the subsidy will go. It will go naturally because what makes subsidy is the transport. You carry crude abroad and carry same back as a refined product with charges and all that.
“Those are the things being subsidized. Once we start producing petrol internally, that will be the end of the subsidy. That was my advice and I think the president started wrongly by that pronouncement and till today, the cost of living has gone beyond the ordinary man on account of that. Tinubu gave himself a very terrible welcome into the Nigerian presidency by his pronouncements and actions, as well as the hardship into which Nigerians were plunged because of his hasty pronouncement. I also agree that he should not have floated the naira because a very weak currency like ours should not have been floated like that.
“You must shore it up; you must support it until the country’s economy is strong enough for any floating. That decision was also hasty and premature on his part. I completely lay the blame on him on these two although I will acknowledge that they have been struggling to get the country out of the ugly situation because the naira is gradually gaining more power lately but to be honest, those were the terrible mistakes the president made which I think he should have thought twice in the first place,” he said.
The foremost scholar and anti-corruption crusader also stated that the aspirations of both Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s presidential candidate, and Peter Obi from the Labour Party, had the potential to destabilize the country. He criticized them for their lack of sportsmanship following President Tinubu’s victory in the last general election.
Sagay said: “The certificate of Tinubu might not have emanated from the school but it contained exactly what is recorded in the original school result. That is the first point. The second point is that I am told that it is an American convention that third parties have powers to issue certificates for universities and other institutions. So those are the two points. What people were saying before was that Tinubu never went to Chicago State University (CSU) and that he was lying.
“When that was proved that he attended the school, then the next desperation from them showed up and they jumped to certificate. For Christ’s sake, why can’t Nigerians accept defeat and move on? Those who are desperate are the ones opening Nigeria to the whole world in their quest to be in power. I blame the opposition for being so bitter and not accepting defeat so they resorted to fighting to bring the country down through all those accusations.
“I thought they (Atiku and Obi) would have insisted on who scored the majority of votes but no, they were not interested in that because they know Tinubu scored the highest votes. They now started looking for technicalities and certificates and other ridiculous things like Abuja alone determining the fate of Nigerians.
“I am happy justice has been done because it would have been so unjust if Tinubu was removed by the court because he won the election. It would have been terrible and for those who are bitter, I think it is good for them to start preparing for the next four years instead of deploying all means to want to bring down the country.
“I saw a lot of desperations and that is not good for the country. Tinubu won the election and all those anxiety and separations were not necessary. The best thing was to move on and wait for the next election year,” he said further.
Kanyi Daily recalls that the vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Datti Baba-Ahmed had responded to questions about his brother’s employment with Bola Tinubu.
