Umar Namadi of Jigawa has applauded President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform programmes aimed at repositioning Nigeria to enviable social and economic development.
By Reporters
Gov. Umar Namadi of Jigawa has applauded President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform programmes aimed at repositioning Nigeria to enviable social and economic development.
Namadi said this while appraising Tinubu’s administration two-year in office, on Wednesday in Dutse.
He commended the Tinubu’s purposeful leadership to salvage Nigeria from the myriads of challenges bedevilling its progress since assuming office on May 29, 2023, describing it as ‘rewarding and promising.’
According to Namadi, a leader must be bold enough to take decisions to benefit his people for a long period of time.
“President Bola Tinubu’s two years in office have been rewarding and promising.
“Why we are saying this is that a leader must be very bold to be able to take decisions in the interest of his people, and for long term benefits.
“In Nigeria, we need transformation, and this has to be driven by someone who is bold to make decisions.
“At the early stage of such decisions, people may misinterpret them, but in the long run they will benefit everybody,” he said.
Namadi highlighted that such decisions like fuel subsidy removal and unification of the Foreign Exchange Rate (FOREX), distinguished the Tinubu’s administration from his predecessors.
These bold decisions, supposed to be taken by the previous administrations, stressing that fuel subsidy removal improved government revenues for the overall benefit of the citizens.
“Now, the removal of the subsidy has come with a lot of clear impacts, at the national level the amount of money that’s coming into the federation account has improved greatly.
“It is an important gesture that helped in financing infrastructural development in the country.”
He said the unification of the FOREX had stabilised the Naira geared towards encouraging growth of economic activities at national and grassroot levels.
Namadi said the Tinubu administration’s economic policies encouraged growth of small businesses and agricultural activities through viable interventions in partnership with development partners.
He listed some of the agric interventions to include the Wheat Production Programme being implemented in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB).
“Today; Jigawa is number one in wheat production in Nigeria, due to the intervention by the Federal Government.
“The federal government is also coming up with a similar programme on rice and livestock.
“So, the two years of President Bola Tinubu are rewarding, and I’m sure over the next few years, more things will come and Nigerians will be happy,” he said.
Dahiru Sulaiman, a journalist, urged government at all levels to prioritise, security, employment generation, human and infrastructural development, to sustain the gains of the Tinubu administration.
According to Suleiman, democracy is all about good governance and social justice.
“Unfortunately; there is no rule of law in our democracy, which is the foundation of any segment of society. Corruption is high, lack of employment and so on,” he said.
Also, Ahmed Deba, a Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bauchi State, underscored the importance of unity to sustain democratic governance.
“As we reflect on this Democracy Day, we must renew our commitment towards building institutions that serve the people.
“Democracy is not an event, it’s a process that must be nurtured with justice, fairness, and equity.”
However, Mr Kyari Jitau, a Public Relations Manager, said Nigeria is yet to achieve democracy.
Jitau said that Nigerians succeeded in ending military dictatorships and achieved a popular government but lack democratic rule.
He said that sequel to the long years of military rule, most political leaders behave like military rulers, they take decisions or actions contrary to the interest of their people.
“Democracy is a system of government where leaders unchain their people chained by other forms of government.,” he said.
He charged political parties to maintain internal democracy to promote growth of democratic culture in the country.
“Recently, the APC declared Tinubu as the flag bearer for the 2027 presidential election, and the PDP did the same thing for Jonathan in 2015. So, where is democracy?
“Those who accused the PDP then are the same people giving Tinubu similar treatment,” he said.
Moreso, Rebecca Mu’azu and William’s Atta, residents of Gombe, attributed lack of sustainable democratic progress to the poor attitudes of political leaders.
Muazu said the country recorded minimal progress since the return of the civilian administration due to the lack of quality leadership by the elected officials.
“Presently, there is no decorum because the politicians are doing whatever they like to serve their interests at the detriment of popular wishes.