President Tinubu admits - "Things are very tough for Nigerians since i removed subsidy"

 

President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, acknowledged that the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy was very tough on Nigerians, and has affected every sector of the economy, including education, but assured that the future remained bright.

Tinubu, who is a Visitor to the University of Lagos, UNILAG, spoke at the 54th convocation ceremony of the university.

The president spoke as Catholic Bishops of the Owerri Ecclesiastical Province lamented that the removal of petroleum subsidy, current naira scarcity and declining value of the nation’s currency, had raised the cost of living, created dismay and panic among the citizenry.

The Bishops also urged improved security and kicked against the blessing of homosexual or same-sex marriages.

This is even as the Chariah Council yesterday tasked the President to expedite action to cushion the hard economic decisions made by his government, in addition to tackling insecurity headlong.

Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, SAN, said the impact could be seen in the high cost of living that has affected parents, guardians, students and other Nigerians.

“We took some life-changing decisions including the removal of fuel subsidy and single exchange rate of the naira. There is no doubt that the actions have led to Nigerians, including parents, guardians and even students experiencing some discomfort. The decisions affected the education sector with parents paying more for education among others.

“I can assure you that the pains will soon be over and that the future is bright. For the education sector, we are assuring you that no Nigerian child will drop out of school. It is in view of that we brought back the School Feeding Programme and also introduced the Student Loan Scheme. The loan is repayable two years after a beneficiary has completed the mandatory one year National Youth Service Corps Scheme, NYSC.

“We are also not taking higher education for granted and that is why we recently took some decisions like removing higher institutions from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS. We are also on the agenda of autonomy for universities.

“Regarding the setting up and running of universities in the country, we are moving to the fourth stage, which is the internalisation of the university system. The first stage was the setting up of universities by the Federal Government. The second stage is the setting up of universities by state governments and the third stage is the coming on board of private universities. The fourth stage is that we want foreign investors and foreign universities to come and set up universities here. They can also do so in partnership with our universities here,” he said.

The President, who commended the management of UNILAG for contributing to the manpower development of the country, expressed the hope that the graduands would go into the world and make a positive impact on the society.

He also charged academics to let the world feel their impact by proffering solutions to societal problems.

In her address, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, said the university has made tremendous progress in the last one year.

“A lot has happened in the last one year but I will mention a few. Our research activities and income from research grants continue to grow with our staff attracting over N11 billion in grant income in both local and foreign currency. These figures are derived from 42 grants obtained in the year 2023 only and they cut across the sciences, social sciences and the arts,” she said.

The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is also an alumnus of the university, opined that UNILAG has proven to be a leading citadel of learning not only in the country but also on the continent and globally.

He reiterated the commitment of his administration to give education its pride of place in the scheme of things.s

Rising from a two-day meeting in Owerri, the Catholic Bishops of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, in a communique by the Chairman and Secretary of the Conference, Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji and Most Rev. Augustine N. Echema, said: “ 2023, was rough and tough for our nation, our society and the church.

“The naira scarcity, the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, and the steady decline of the value of the naira, raised further the already high cost of living, and thus created dismay and panic among our people.

“In addition, the political and legal wranglings in the aftermath of the general elections of 2023, the widespread emigration of our highly trained professionals in various fields, the menace of false prophets and claims of unfounded miracles, have continued to demoralize our citizens, Christians and others.

“So, as the New Year dawned, Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief for the departure of the year 2023. Echoes of joy and relief were heard everywhere as the clock ushered in the year 2024.

“We witnessed a remarkable improvement in the security situation in our communities, during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

“While we commend the government for rising up to its responsibility of securing our communities, we urge them to sustain their efforts in this regard. We would be belabouring the obvious to state that we need security for economic and social life to thrive in our communities.”

Addressing the recent Vatican Document, “Fiducia Supplicans”,concerning the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings) of irregular unions, the Bishops said: “The declaration seemed, on the one hand, to reiterate the Catholic teaching on the nature of blessings and, on the other hand, to undermine that same teaching, especially on the application of blessings to ‘irregular’ unions.

“Given this ambiguity, the document quickly aroused mixed reactions of acceptance, sceptical reserve, and outright rejection from Episcopal Conferences and individual bishops across the world.

No blessing for homosexual, same sex marriage

“We reaffirm the position of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, in line with the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, SECAM, to state that: the Church’s doctrine on Christian marriage and sexuality remains unchanged.

“For this reason, we, the African Bishops, do not consider it appropriate for Africa to bless homosexual unions or same-sex couples because, in our context, this would cause confusion and would be in direct contradiction to the cultural ethos of African communities.

“In furtherance of our pastoral and prophetic mission, we reject the blessing of same-sex unions in the Catholic Church in Nigeria.

“We reaffirm the teaching of the Church on marriage as the exclusive, stable and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, open to procreation.

“While we do not call for discrimination of people as a result of sexual orientations, the Gospel appeal for all sinners to repent is still urgent.”

Growing concern over japa

On the growing Japa Syndrome, the Bishops said: “The rising brain drain is now a growing concern.

“In recent times, we have witnessed a growing number of our professionals and young people desperately giving up everything to emigrate in search of jobs and better living conditions outside the shores of our country.

“This extensive brain drain is worrisome and is denying the country the requisite manpower needed to revamp its economy and foster national development.

“Our young people are the most affected by this syndrome. As the country continues to sink economically, and as our government continues to accumulate more and more debts, many young people have been led to frustration and despondency.

“The situation is worsened by the high level of youth unemployment in the country, which makes our youths feel rejected by the very society into which they were born.

Govt responsibility

“As Pastors, we cannot get tired of reminding the government of its responsibility to provide for the welfare of the suffering masses in the face of the hard economic times.

“We urge the government to initiate sound economic policies and programmes that can revive our ailing economy, foster growth, and improve the ease of doing business in the country.

“A peaceful and secure environment will encourage investments and the movement of goods and services across the regions of the country. Fighting the menace of corruption and nepotism will help to enthrone the reign of competence and meritocracy in the country.

Reforming educational system

“Reforming our educational system will help to equip the young people with the needed skills for our contemporary market-driven economies. We must equally say that the government cannot do it alone.

“We call on the private sector to liaise with the government in generating employment opportunities, in encouraging the flowering of the entrepreneurial spirit that we know exists among our people, in developing new and innovative solutions to the economic challenges of the country, and in addressing the growing damage to the environment, especially in the oil-producing and mining regions of the nation.

“We call on our young people to be ready to imbibe the spirit of entrepreneurship, to be ready for the rigours of technical training and the patience allied with job seeking and professionalism. We urge them to shun the get-rich-quick syndrome and the so-called yahoo-yahoo menace. These speak of attitudes that are anti-social and easily lead to criminal behaviour.

While calling for justice and equity to thrive in Nigeria, the Bishops however reasoned that if the citizens are no longer proud of their country today, it is because they experience their lives as threatened by the absence of the rule of law and no longer feel secure amid all the social tensions in the country.

They said: “If we must stem the tide of the Japa Syndrome, then we must collectively resolve and work towards building a country we can be proud of, a country where justice, equity and fairness thrive.

“Making Nigeria great should remain our collective dream. The Constitution of our country makes provision for federal character as a way of promoting fairness and equity among the ethnic communities and religions of the country.

“It is important, therefore, that for the sake of social justice, national unity and cohesion, everyone should be given a sense of belonging in the country.”