Journalist and former presidential aide, Dr. Reuben Abati, has expressed his dismay at the performance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
News About Nigeria reports that Abati, a prominent TV host, spoke on Arise TV Morning Show on Monday.
Abati described it as an “unmitigated disaster”, an embarrassment to the Yoruba people, and a source of shame for the Yoruba people.
He said that the Yoruba ethnic group, predominantly residing in southwestern Nigeria, has a reputation for economic prowess, and the president, as a Yoruba, is a notable example.
Abati said that this perceived expertise has been discredited under Tinubu’s leadership.
He said that the nation’s economic woes have intensified under the current administration, leaving former President Muhammadu Buhari to revel in the situation from his hometown of Daura.
He said that the ominous uncertainty and unbearable suffering faced by Nigerians transcends mere hunger.
“Nigerians have now been thrown into energy poverty. We now find ourselves unfortunately in a situation whereby President Muhammadu Buhari, now in his Daura village in Katsina, will be laughing,” Abati said.
“He will say, ‘okay. I think this Yoruba people they say they know the economy. Okay, the economy is now in their hands. They have, they have taken it down. They have mismanaged it’.
“So this is what we are facing. It’s a gross embarrassment in terms of economic management to people who come from the Southwest, who say that you know, ‘people from the Southwest are better at managing the economy’. We have not seen that evidence.”
Abati was the Special adviser on media to President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria between 2011 and 2015.