Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has stated that corruption is not the biggest challenge the country is facing, News About Nigeria reports.
He stated this in a statement via his verified handle on X on Monday, ahead of those planning to embark on a protest on the 1st of October.
Omokri noted that the entitlement of Nigerians is the country’s biggest challenge as opposed to corruption, tribalism, terrorism, and inflation, as others may think.
He stressed that there are no government-owned facilities in developed countries where Nigerians flood, so, Nigerians should stop expecting so much from the government.
He lamented that Nigerians do not pay their taxes yet expect so much from the government, maintaining that Nigeria must become a productive country for it to work.
He wrote, “The biggest challenge to Nigeria’s progress as a nation is not corruption, tribalism, terrorism, inflation or even the removal of fuel subsidy. It is our entitlement.
“The government did not do this. The government did not do that. I wish every Nigerian could travel the world. There is nothing like government airports, hospitals, schools, or markets in these nations we want to japa to.
“Governments in Europe, America and Canada do not go into business or provide many of the services the Nigerian government provides for the Nigerian people.
“Hospitals are built, owned and operated by the private sector. Ditto for hospitals, universities, airports, power stations, transmission lines, and sometimes even roads.
“59.9% of Americans pay taxes, and their tax money is mostly used to fund the government and the military. I challenge you to find one government-owned hospital in America for civilians.
“We must be more productive as a country.
“Failing that, Nigeria will continue to borrow or print more money, fueling inflation and increasing commodity prices.
“Protests and riots cannot change these economic realities. They will be just like a child’s tantrum when his parents cannot afford to buy him a toy.
“Nigerians want to live at the state’s expense, forgetting that the state has to live at the expense of the people or it will collapse, as the Soviet Union did in 1991.”
