- Atiku: We’re at a precipice, Govt lacks capacity to address challenges
- You’re part of this rot, You can’t Sit in judgement over anybody, Presidency bombs Atiku
The Presidency on Sunday reacted to claims made by Nigeria’s former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar that Nigeria is the nation with the highest unemployment rate in the world.
Recall that Abubakar had earlier on Sunday said that President Muhammadu Buhari’ administration lacks capacity to address the current challenges in the country, calling on Nigerians to speak up.
His statement reads: “We are at a precipice as a nation and the truth is that all stakeholders and elder statesmen have to speak up on time, while there is still a Nigeria to save.
“This government obviously lacks the capacity to address our current challenges, and we must help them, not because of the government, but because of our people.
While linking the “unprecedented” level of insecurity in Nigeria to youth unemployment, Atiku had said education is the key to addressing the menace.
“I say this because the fastest way to bring down a world record unemployment rate is via incentivized education. An educated citizenry is more employable and more self employable,” Atiku said.
“Increased education has been scientifically linked with lower rates of crime and insecurity, along with lower infant and maternal mortality, and a higher lifetime income.”
“If we do not do this, then the floodgates of unemployment will be further opened next year, and in the years to come,” he warned.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) latest unemployment figures, the number of unemployed Nigerians rose to 23.19 million in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020 on the back of job losses induced by the Covid-19 crisis.
The Q4 unemployment rate report shows that the number is 6.5 percent higher compared to 21.77 million recorded by NBS as unemployed in Q2 2020.
This also indicates a 33.3 percent unemployment level compared to 27.1 percent in the previous period in Q2 2020.
However, reacting to comments made by the former Vice President on the current unemployment rate in the country, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said Atiku was among those that plunged Nigeria into the current precarious situation over the years, hence, he has no locus standing to speak ill of the incumbent administration.
Adesina added that Atiku, who deputised former President Olusegun Obasanjo for eight years cannot begin to wash off his hands from the current rot in the system like the biblical Pontius Pilate did, adding that that would not make Nigerians forget in a jiffy, his records of past misdeeds that are all over the place in public domain.
“The former Vice-President was in power for eight years, now he is in opposition to the government. You can’t take whatever he says as the gospel. The question is, when former vice-president Atiku Abubakar was in power with former president Olusegun Obasanjo, where did they take the country to? Where did they leave the country?”
“There are clips I have seen myself on social media where he was saying some things they promised to do especially on power, some people collected trillions and didn’t deliver. The interviewer asked him did they go after them? He said unfortunately, they didn’t go after them.
“So, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar was part of the rot this country became, so he can’t exculpate himself; he can’t begin to sit in judgement over anybody. He played his part for eight years and they left the country where they left it. so, he can’t like Pontius Pilate begin to wash his hands clean of what Nigeria has become.”
However, Adesina said the presidency will continue to take cues from positive criticism, but kicked against what he termed as “negative politicking” by politicians.
“The president will always listen to what is well-founded. Anything that is not borne out of negative politicking, the presidency will always listen”.
“It will isolate the good things and utilise them but anything that is based on negative politicking, anything that is based on pull him down, it will just be the opinion of who said it but nobody is compelled to listen to it”.
He said there are silver linings in the sky, stressing that it is typical of Nigeria that when the break in the clouds come, no one talks about them.
He said all nations in the world experience negatives and if that becomes a focus then there will be more to talk about.
Going further, he affirmed that there are positives in Nigeria, adding that Nigerians must look out for the positives and encourage themselves.
According to him, looking at the positives in Nigeria will not only help individuals but will also accelerate whatever the government is doing.
He urged critics to cut the Buhari-led administration some slack and give Nigeria some credit. He noted that the nation is making progress, adding that though it may be slower than some want it, things are looking up.
