Some residents of Gwagwalada Area Council, FCT, have appealed to the Federal Government to implement people oriented policies that will alleviate economic hardship in the country.
The residents made the appeal in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Gwagwalada, FCT.
They called on the Federal Government to proffer lasting solutions to the current economic hardship in the country.
Mr Abdullahi Suleiman, a civil servant said the 64th independence anniversary was not worth celebrating, because of the hunger and sufferings in the land occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy and other unfriendly policies of the government.
He underscored the need for the government to diversify the economy away from oil.
“The Nigeria economy revolves round the oil sector which is not healthy for the country. The government should bring down the price of fuel as a mean to alleviate hardship.,” he said.
Suleiman also stressed the need to reduce the cost of governance and channel the fund to developmental projects.
“A model should be adopted that will bring down the cost of governance. Take for instance, in the area council, the retinue of appointees is too much
“Leadership should be about service and not about self if we want Nigeria to be what it ought to be”, he said.
Mrs Esther Uzokwu, another Gwagwalada resident, said insecurity and corruption have eaten deep into the fabrics of the country,
According to her, a country as big and naturally endowed as Nigeria should not be talking about unemployment or hardship.
“Nigeria has all it takes to be great, we have enough mineral resources, good soil for agriculture, favourable weather that need to be harnessed to better the lives of the citizens.
“With the type of resources we have, no Nigerian should be living in abject poverty, but the corruption in the country has turned many Nigerians to beggars in their own country,” she said.
Mr Oluwatobi Adedoyin, a businessman, however expressed a different opinion that there were a lot for the country to celebrate at its 64th independence anniversary.
Adedoyin said he was optimistic that Nigeria would be great and better again, adding that what the country needed was the right approach by those in authority and the governed.
He said that in spite of the economic hardship in the country, Nigeria has fared relatively well in some areas including 25 years of uninterrupted democratic rule.
“Although the country is not yet where it is meant to be, I believe we will surely get there with the right approaches put in place,” he said.
He called on the government to address the problems in the country especially insecurity and poor infrastructures. (NAN)
