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Former presidential aide, Dr. Usman Bugaje, in this interview, speaks on the Tinubu Presidency and his misgivings about what is happening.
He did not hold hostages. He insists he criticises Tinubu because when his fellow northerner, President Muhammadu Buhari, was doing the wrong things, he spoke against it.
Bugaje can be controversial, yet you can not fault his clear-headed presentation and analysis of issues. He once said “there are no oil-producing states but the Nigerian state”, and that the “over 70% landmass of the North is what earned Nigeria the nautical miles into the sea which Nigeria enjoys and which gives the country the off-shore drilling rights,”.
In this interview, he clarified his comments with precise lucidity. He spoke about the Oronsaye report, NASS and budget padding, corruption and why he does not believe there is any light at the end of the tunnel, especially, given the way President Bola Tinubu is conducting the affairs of government. You will find Dr. Bugaje’s views are profound.
Excerpts:
By Jide Ajani
If you were to give a brief assessment of what you make of the Tinubu presidency, what would you say?
It is rudderless. We don’t even seem to have any idea of where to go or where they are going.
They came with a promise of fixing the country and, apparently, they did not do their homework. They think they know, but it is now clear that they don’t know. And we are in a much deeper mess than when he started. And this blame game of saying that the regime before him had created so many problems.
Yes, this may well be true. But why are you there? Why did you apply for the job? So, these are the kinds of things that, if you are there to fix it, you should come up with ideas. In my view, I think they have no ideas. I think he should apologise to Nigerians for deepening their woes and bringing a team of people who know. When you bring your relatives and your own close associates and they appear to have clearly failed, you should admit that these people have failed and then open yourself to new ideas.
You are playing with the lives of people. People are dying because of hunger and desperation in the land; people are dying because they can no longer afford to go to the hospitals because of the rising cost of drugs. People are dying because they have no hope. Unemployment is increasing, and even those with jobs are in a very big problem because of inflation. This trial and error would appear to be the most reckless thing to do in this circumstance.