President Bola Tinubu has asked Nigerians to be patient even though the cost of living is high. He said the country won’t get better if it doesn’t work on its problems.
The President talked about this when former lawmakers visited him at the State House in Abuja on Friday.
Tinubu knows people are hungry, but he said there are no “free gifts,” meaning that real progress needs time and hard work.
He also said the government should stay focused on building the nation and fixing its economy.
“Look at us. Agriculture is very important. People say they are hungry.
“Yes, I get that. But we can’t just get things for free. We must work hard. We have been a democracy for 25 years. We don’t want people to be hungry and angry. But please be patient.
“There are no free gifts. We will rebuild our nation with your help,” Tinubu said.
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The President also said that the country missed many chances to fix its roads, schools, and other important things in the past.
He said that when the economy was doing well, leaders did not use the money to fix important things, which is why many schools and roads are now broken.
Tinubu said this is a big reason why the country now has many problems, including high living costs and many children not going to school.
“No one will fix this better than us. I have traveled around the world and seen how other countries work together and share ideas to improve.
“Yes, times are hard. But how did we get here? What did we do when we had a lot of money? We forgot about our communities. We ignored the important things. We neglected to give people a decent life. We forgot to educate our children.
“Look at the schools; they are in bad shape. Schools should be nice enough for children to want to learn.
“We can keep complaining that not many kids go to school. But did we do anything to make education better? We must ask ourselves. It’s a matter of conscience,” Tinubu added.
What You Should Know
The high cost of food is a big worry in the country as many people struggle with rising food prices.
According to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, the country’s food inflation rate is 37.52%.
Even though the government has declared a state of emergency on food security, food prices keep going up.
The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) predicts that around 26.5 million Nigerians will be at risk of hunger in 2024.