“Nigerians Have Been Hungry Since 1960, You Can’t Judge Us By That” – Presidency Tells Critics

Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on policy communication has claimed that the ongoing hardship is not unique to the present administration and should not be used as a “political weapon” against the government.

Bwala was reacting to comments by Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice-President, during his appearance on TVC, adding that Nigerians had been hungry since independence in 1960.

“The most fundamental thing is the issue he (Atiku) has raised. Does he have a valid point? He does not because the data suggests otherwise,” Bwala said.

“What do you expect them to do other than to try their best to see how they can demarcate the government in order to create the buzz around what they do,” he added.

“He said we are creating hunger. Is he blinded or doesn’t he hear the fact of the progress we’ve made? For example, we have increased foreign reserves.

“Our net export has increased. We have less dependency on imports. We have created a structure that has stabilised the economy.

“He won’t talk about that. He won’t talk about the Caesarean Session we provided in all the hospitals in Nigeria — how the people don’t have to suffer.

“He doesn’t talk about that. He doesn’t talk about the NELFUND we have provided. He should be able to speak and say whether it’s working or not.”

Bwala accused opposition figures of shifting narratives after being proved wrong on economic policy.

“They started first by saying our economic model is wrong. Now, after two years, we’ve been able to prove them otherwise. They are dog whistling for civil unrest,” he said.

“This rhetoric of Nigerians are hungry; we have to be able to grow out of it. Nigerians were hungry in 1960, hungry in 1980, hungry in 1990, hungry in 1999. It was between 1999 to 2003 that somebody sang ‘Nigeria Jaga Jaga’. You mean he sang in abstract?” Bwala asked.

“There has never been a time in which there is no one problem or the other as far as the Nigerian people is concerned. But judge the metrics.

“Judge us not by the rhetoric of Nigerians are hungry. Judge us by the dynamics of what we’re putting in place and whether it’s working.”

On Monday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, expressed concern over the level of hunger among Nigerians.

In statement issued by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, the former Vice President, said the hardship in the country was pushing the poor to the brink, with no clear evidence that the government had solutions.

“At this time, there are no manifest signs that this government is capable of addressing the grim issue of severe hunger staring the poor in the face after two years in power,” Atiku had said.  (SaharaReporters)