The sheer unsustainability of servicing Nigeria’s external debt profile with 90% of the nation’s revenue base has been emphasized by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The president spoke on Sunday in Abuja while declaring open the annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at the Velodrome of the Chief MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja.
According to President Tinubu, the prosperity Nigerians require is interlocked with banishment of poverty from the society with the focused cooperation of Nigeria’s private sector leaders, many of whom were present at the opening ceremony.
His words: “Can we continue to service external debts with 90% of our revenue? It is a path to destruction. It is not sustainable. We must make the very difficult changes that are necessary for our country to get up from the slumber and be respected among the great nations of the world.”
Speaking at the lawyers’ conference themed, ‘Getting it Right: Charting the Course for Nigeria’s Nation-Building,’ Tinubu stated that hard decisions must be made to set the country on a growth trajectory, despite the initial pains which meaningful reforms usually bring.
According to him, “We cannot have the country we desire without the reforms we have initiated. It is painful at the beginning, in the short and medium term, but we must do what we have to do to take this nation to its great destiny. It is not about you and it is not about me. It is about our generations yet unborn, for whom we must bequeath a great and prosperous country.”
Recalling the notable judicial reforms he birthed as Lagos State governor, President Tinubu renewed his commitment to deal conclusively with the pressing issue of remuneration for judicial officers and legal practitioners, noting that true justice reform must begin with world class salaries and benefits for legal professionals in Nigeria.
Further according to him, “You are learned. I want to learn. Why are we so blessed and we are still lacking? We must have a change of attitude and a change of our mindset. We accuse our nation and its previous leaders. We complain a lot of the past. Is that the solution? No! Let us look forward and be determined! God has given us what we need. We must work hard with determination to make our country great and it begins with you who are seated here with me.”
Referring to the keynote address delivered by the Chairman of UBA Plc and Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu, who he praised for setting an agenda for economic growth and development, President Tinubu rued the inability of the country to cage poverty and frontally confront poor electricity supply, notwithstanding Nigeria’s gas abundance.
Tinubu pledged his administration will ensure that Nigeria generates and distributes the imperative electricity the economy requires.
“Yes, it is a shame not to have adequate electricity for the mass majority of homes in Nigeria and to power our industries. How can we address poverty without electricity? We can take many people out of poverty with uninterrupted electricity supply. Poverty is not acceptable, and we must banish it,” he declared..
The NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), in his welcome address expressed the confidence of the NBA in the ability of President Bola Tinubu to deliver good governance to Nigeria.
