The Presidential Candidate for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, has said that Nigeria might not exist by 2023 if nothing is done to tackle the socioeconomic challenges that are ravaging the country.
Kachikwu made this disclosure while briefing newsmen in Abuja yesterday. He added that an economic summit to address these issues is urgently needed.
He lamented that the tension in the country has increased after the security advisory by some Western nations and the departure of some Embassy officials, stressing that the present administration has failed in its duties to respond to rumours connected to the safety of the nation, especially on the release of the convicted terrorist as an exchange.
He said, ”I call on President Buhari to convene an emergency economic summit. ‘We all need to get involved in this conversation. It is meaningless to keep talking about the 2023 general elections when our present realities suggest that we might not have a nation by then. We can’t continue acting like we don’t know tens of millions of Nigerians are unemployed and impoverished. The western nations are seeing the trends of Feudal Lords taking over Nigeria.”
”The security advisory by some Western nations and the departure of embassy officials and their families have led to panic amongst Nigerians. Even though President Buhari has sought to assure Nigerians that all is well, one begins to wonder what is really going on.
“The President failed to respond to rumours that some convicted terrorists were released to secure the freedom of the remaining Kaduna train captives. Some now accuse his government of undermining the efforts of our men and women in the field by the indiscriminate release of those who have sworn to destroy our way of life. Only the President can confirm if this is true or not.”
According to him, Nigerians now live in fear of the unknown as they wonder if they could be in the right place at the wrong time and the highways have gotten worse as bandits now take on and kill convoys with several policemen saying that if those with a retinue of police aides were being attacked and, in some cases killed, then who is safe in Buhari’s Nigeria?
He stated that “as if this is not bad enough, the President continues to destroy the Nigerian economy with wrong and ill-timed policies that mostly benefit a few. Millions are daily thrown into the poverty bracket. Our middle class has been wiped out as the dollar today exchanges for N800 and above. Diesel, which powers most businesses and industries, retails for around N900. A bag of local rice sells for N50,000 in some parts of Nigeria. A bag of Dangote cement retails for N4100. Mind you, cement is the building block for the construction industry, and that same construction industry is a key driver of any economy.
“One begins to wonder if this government is deliberately trying to set a record of creating the greatest number of poor people in the shortest period possible. How do you explain the timing of the re-design of the naira? The sensible thing to do is weigh the pros and cons before making such a decision, which has further weakened the naira. How many Nigerians actually store money in their homes as is being speculated? Do we further destroy the naira because of a few Nigerians?
“Why can’t our security agencies up their game, identify those speculated to store billions in their homes and then use legal means to recover the money? By the way who says all money stored at home is ill-gotten wealth? Some simply don’t trust banks or don’t want to incur extortionist bank charges imposed by some banks.
The ADC Presidential flagbearer noted that the country’s economy was in tatters while the economy’s managers fought over who informed whom or who got presidential approval.
He added that the naira had plunged, leaving most businesses on the verge of collapsing.
