From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) at the weekend advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to hesitate to seek help outside his administration and party if he is overwhelmed by the current socio-economic quagmire bedevilling Nigeria.
The national student body noted that it seemed the president and his team were confounded and had no answers to the economic hardship, particularly hunger, pummelling Nigerians. It posited that the administration should not be ashamed to seek help, even from members of the opposition parties, in finding solutions.
NANS, in a statement signed by the Clerk of the Senate, NANS headquarters, Abdul-Yekinn Odunayo, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said that the situation in the country is becoming more precarious and strangling the citizens, hence the need for the President Tinubu-led government to look for urgent solutions wherever they can be found.
Odunayo further noted that all measures being put in place to mitigate the hardship had been swallowed by the high cost of petroleum products, depreciation in the value of the naira, and the astronomical rise in food prices.
The statement added that students across the country have been seriously hit by the economic downturn, stressing that urgent solutions must be provided by the incumbent administration to save the country from the socio-economic precipice.
The NANS Senate Clerk, however, pointed out that Nigerians, especially the students, are tired of receiving “insufficient food items” being distributed as palliatives by the Tinubu-led administration, saying only conscientious, pragmatic solutions are needed to revamp the country’s economy.
He urged the president not to limit his search for answers to Nigeria’s challenges to his cabinet members or members of his party, emphasising that “nothing is stopping Mr President from consulting the eggheads in the opposition parties for solutions to the harsh and suffocating economic situation in Nigeria.”
“The economic situation is becoming precarious day by day, and it seems the president and his team lack the solutions to the economic challenges confronting the nation and pressing down on the people. As a leader and president who wants the country to move forward and surmount the current situation, he should not hesitate or be mortified to seek help outside his government and his party.
“As a national body of students in the country, we believe there are intelligent and economic gurus who are members of the opposition parties that the president can consult covertly or woo overtly and tap from their fountain of knowledge.
“To tell the truth, Nigerians are hungry and angry. Students are not impervious to the tempest of hardship blowing across the nation. Therefore, we urge Mr President not to only think outside the box, but consult and woo anyone with a magic box, irrespective of his or her political leanings, in order to save the country from economic depression.
“If all hands must be on deck to move Nigeria forward, President Tinubu must find those capable hands beyond party affiliation and engage them for the benefit, development, growth, and economic prosperity of Nigeria and Nigerians,” the statement stated.