Hardship: Ex-Kwara guber aspirant asks Nigerians not to lose hope

In the current situation of hunger, insecurity, and other challenges facing the country, a former governorship aspirant in Kwara State, Engineer Sunday Adebayo Babalola, has urged Nigerians not to lose hope.

Speaking with journalists on Wednesday, Engineer Babalola stated that things are bound to improve in the country, adding that the current administration of President Bola Tinubu is not solely responsible for some of the national challenges.

The former governorship aspirant said that many of the problems had existed under previous administrations and regimes, urging Nigerians and other residents not to despair.

Commenting on some of the current administration’s policies, Engineer Babalola remarked, “It is easy to demolish, but hard to build,” adding that the policies will eventually lead to national improvement.

“The federal government has embarked on several policies which, in my candid opinion, will ultimately benefit the people—even though there is suffering at the moment. It’s not a sweet song, but it’s like this: you used to eat all your food by noon, and in the evening you had nothing left, simply because you were hungry. Then you would go to bed on an empty stomach and wake up the next morning with nothing to eat. That is what we were doing.

“But what we are doing now is preserving some—saying, ‘OK, this afternoon, even though I’m not satisfied, I’ll leave a little for this evening and a little for tomorrow morning, so that I can have breakfast, no matter how small, and then go out and work.’ I think that’s better than the previous situation where we metaphorically used all 10 fingers to eat everything at once.

“So, I think we are moving in the right direction economically. It’s difficult because of these policies, but they will eventually benefit the people.”

On the issue of petroleum subsidy, he said, “I knew it would bring hardship. But it is the right decision. Today, the state governments have more money—even if some of them are not utilising it properly, that is not the fault of the federal government.

“I also knew that exchange rate harmonisation would bring hardship. In both cases I’ve mentioned, I anticipated the difficulties, but I can assure you, those policies will eventually improve the country.”

He, however, urged the government to address insecurity across the country promptly, stating that it has the capacity to do so.

“I can assure you, if the government wants to address it, they can. But perhaps there are people benefiting from the insecurity. Once we tackle insecurity and power, and address other key challenges, things will fall into place,” he said.

He argued that the current economic hardship should not be solely attributed to President Tinubu’s administration, noting that certain infrastructure systems had been failing since 1999.

“Was it Tinubu who destroyed Nigeria Airways? The airline was already in ruins before 1999. Is it Tinubu who stopped the depots from working? These depots were established by the military and had already broken down before that time. Repairing those pipelines will take time.

“Was it Tinubu who ruined the power sector? The sector had collapsed because people failed to take necessary actions. Revamping it will take time. It is very easy to demolish a house—you can tear down a tall building in one day. But to build or rebuild it takes time. It won’t happen in one day, no matter how fast you are.

“You have to sow a seed in order to reap. So, it’s a sacrifice we are all making. Things will get better,” he said.

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