Oladipupo Awojobi 
A support group of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, the Nigeria Youth For Atiku (NYFA), has urged President Bola Tinubu to take steps towards reducing cost of energy and interest rate to de-escalate hardship and hunger crisis in Nigeria
The NYFA’s President, Professor (Mrs) Gold Emmanuel, made the appeal in a statement on Sunday by the group’s Director of Communications (Nigeria and Diaspora), Mr Dare Dada.
Emmanuel said that the call was part of the resolution reached at the NYFA’s quarterly meeting held in Lagos on Saturday.
She said that such step had become necessary to reduce economic challenges, hardship and hunger being faced by masses and businesses.
According to her, NYFA, in its quarterly meeting held in Lagos on the 9th November 2024, admonished the APC led government to reconsider its stand on some of its policies that have thrown Nigeria into inflation crises and poverty.
She lamented the cost of living, which she said has thrown millions of homes into hunger, despair and depression.
“The meeting considered many policies of the government and its far-reaching implications on the citizens in the last 12 months of the current government.
“Hunger, despair and depression seem to be the cheapest commodities in Nigeria at the moment. We can not continue to inflict harsh policies on the people and expect prosperity.
“Nigerians are demoralised and unable to feed well. There is no country with high inflation as Nigeria where people would prosper considering the poor wage and lack of incentives to cushion the effect.
“Many advanced countries are currently maneuvering their ways out of the post-COVID effect on their economy by cutting interest rates so citizens can access cheap loans, companies can produce at a lower cost and also reduce cost of energy just to maintain some economic balance.
“Nigeria is not isolated from the global economic crisis that erupted after the Covid pandemic. There is a need to cushion these effects,” the NYFA president said.
She said that NYFA also called on the government of the APC to come down from their high horses and consider taking a cue from the economic advice offered by the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
According to her, Atiku is a seasoned administrator and entrepreneur who has mastered the economic demography of Nigeria and understands how things can be better done.
Emmanuel added: “There is no big deal in picking from his advice to navigate out of the current economic crisis.
“If the current economic crisis continue, there is a projection that over 133m Nigerians would have been hit with hunger by 2025.
“This will definitely not impact only productivity but amplify criminal activities such as banditry, robbery incidences and other social vices which are inimical to the growth of the country.
“A stitch in time, saves nine. We need to act now to save Nigeria.”
She said that the group also commended the government for releasing the under-aged minors incarcerated by the police over the #EndBadGovernance protest in August.
She requested a thorough investigation as to how they were being detained for that long period of time without trial.
“The focus of the government should not be on suppressing the rights of the citizens to protest but on making life more meaningful and bearable, thus increasing the standard of living for Nigerians,” she said.
