The Lagos State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has faulted the Federal Government for describing Nigerians who criticise President Bola Tinubu’s administration as “blind,” saying such comments show a disconnect from the reality of citizens’ suffering.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, had, during an interview on Channels Television,n said those blaming the president for poor governance were refusing to see his achievements.
He insisted that the country was “much better, safer” and enjoying “increased prosperity.”
But Lagos LP Chairman, Dr Dayo Ekong, in a statement on Wednesday, described the minister’s remarks as insensitive and dismissive of widespread hardship.
“True progress is measured not by concrete alone but by the welfare of citizens,” Ekong said.
She noted that inflation, job losses, poverty, and insecurity had worsened since 2015 and accelerated under President Tinubu.
According to Ekong, youth unemployment remains at crisis levels, inflation has crippled households, and insecurity still forces farmers from their fields and families to barricade their homes.
“While celebrating ‘gains’, kidnappings remain a national industry. Farmers fear their fields, Northern villages flee bandits, and Lagosians barricade homes against gangs. Safety isn’t a press statement – it’s the freedom to live without terror.
“To dismiss the cries of hungry citizens as ‘blindness’ is an insult to our national dignity,” she said.
She accused the All Progressives Congress-led government of confusing “motion for progress and concrete for compassion”, adding that millions of Nigerians have been pushed into poverty since the removal of fuel subsidies.
The party called for policies that restore purchasing power, stabilise small businesses, and create jobs instead of what it described as “vanity projects”.
“Nigerians aren’t blind; they are traumatised. They aren’t kicking; they are gasping for survival,” Ekong added.
