In what appears to be another outburst of insensitivity to the plight of Nigerian citizens, President Muhammadu Buhari warned on Saturday that while his government was working hard to fix Nigeria’s problems, the change his party promised would end Nigerians’ sufferings “sometimes comes with pains.”
In a series of tweets released on Sunday evening on his official Twitter handle, @NGRPresident, Buhari urged the people to be patient with him, as his change is “work in progress”.
“President Buhari remains committed to positively changing the life of Nigerians; making it better than he met it,” one tweet read.
“Change is a process. It does not happen overnight. It can be inconvenient; it sometimes comes with pain. This Change is work-in-progress.”
Another tweet listed “one highlight of the change agenda as the N500bn social investment programme, which will pay N5,000 monthly to the poorest, most vulnerable Nigerians”.
“The programme is designed to recognize the need for ordinary, poor Nigerians to also benefit from the resources of their country,” the tweets continued.
“Also as part of the Social Investment Prog,500,000 unemployed graduates will be directly employed as volunteer teachers to be paid by the FG.
“Also budgeted for is a micro-credit scheme that will benefit one million traders, artisans, etc, and will be managed by @BOINigeria.
“President Buhari has ordered the release of 10,000 tons of grain from the National Strategic Grains Reserve, to check food price increases
“PMB has also asked the Agric Minister to ensure that all able-bodied men & women in IDP camps are assisted to return to farming immediately.
“These are part of measures by the Federal Government to ease the hardship associated with food inflation across the country.”
Nigeria is battling more than months of relentless fuel shortages, sparking intense debates about how quickly Buhari’s federal government can deliver the change it promised.
In the midst of socio-economic hardships, top officials of the Buhari administrations have become renowned for their reckless comments targeted at citizens. The attitude of some of these government officials is said to emanate from how the President relates with his aides with disdain and contempt.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina is well known for his unapologetic brashness when engaging citizens especially in the social media. Recently, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu came under fire from citizens when he said he was no magician in reference to the plight of Nigerians in a season of protracted fuel scarcity. Similarly, the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Diaspora Affairs, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa recently received public condemnation in the social media for a rude comment via her Twitter handle targeted at a Nigerian in diaspora.
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