Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has stated that defending the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is a tough job.
Ezekwesili said this while reacting to the Minister of Interior, Tunji Ojo’s suggestion that Nigeria should focus on research and development to prosper.
Speaking at the Panel Discussion at the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association conference in Enugu on Monday, the former minister asserted that defending the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government of Nigeria due to its wrong policies would be a herculean task.
“It is a tough job to have to defend the APC government. You can do the right policies, but if you do it the wrong way, there will be a problem,” Ezekwesili said.
She cited the removal of fuel subsidy as an example of a well-intentioned policy that was wrongly implemented, leading to spiralling inflation.
“The reform was not prepared for. It was a good reform done the wrong way. It is bad because inflation is punishing the populace. You really have to prepare for reform,” Ezekwesili said.
“Inflation hits the poor so hard, and they have nowhere to run to. It was a good reform done wrongly,” she maintained.
Ezekwesili urged lawyers and the judiciary not to reward prebendalism and not to pander to the wishes of the political class that care less about the poor masses.
“The idea that politics is the pathway to becoming wealthy is an anomaly. Any profession that is rewarding this kind of pre-examined behavior cannot be a profession that cares about tomorrow.
“133 million Nigerians are in a state of poverty. The lawyers are determining the rule of law in Nigeria. There should be an evaluation of the political class. This country lies prostrate for the poor. I am praying the legal profession. Any profession that is rewarding prebendalism is not a profession,” she lamented.
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