The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has faulted steps taken by President Bola Tinubu in revamping the nation’s ailing economy, saying it has made a bad situation worse.
In a statement issued on Monday, the director of publicity and advocacy of NEF, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said the administration erred in embarking on major decisions before it even took its “first faltering steps”.
He stressed that efforts being made to correct the previous administration’s mistakes appeared too hastily decided and failed to relieve the desperate challenges of daily living of Nigerians.
The statement reads in part, “Most Nigerians do not need convincing that the country had been reduced to a very sorry state by the last administration, and sacrifices and informed policies and decisions will need to be made to make a transition to a more productive economy, more secure communities, and a more united country.
“We believe that the administration has erred in embarking on major decisions before it even took its first faltering steps.
“Attempts to correct mistakes have not been very successful, and these have been made worse by the barrage of plans and policies being hinted at, which will make life even more intolerable for the Nigerian.
“Where efforts have been made to correct mistakes, they appeared too hastily decided and will, in the long term, do little to relieve the desperate challenges of daily living of Nigerians.
“On the whole, the first few weeks of President Tinubu will be recorded by history as the act of a leadership that made bad situations considerably worse, and fails to explain why.
“The Forum prefers to believe this is not the intention of the administration, but it shares the agony of the citizen whose life has taken a major turn for the worse in the last few weeks.
“The Forum wishes to advise the administration to consider taking some basic steps to improve the context in which it seeks to achieve short and long term goals.
“The most important at this stage is to communicate with Nigerians in a manner that lets us understand why it has become necessary that we should go through major pains, including whether they are inevitable or avoidable.
“The citizen is entitled to know why it is now impossible for millions of families to feed; why his child may soon be out of school, and why his life has no timeline for recovery.
“Nigerians want to know how we got here, who and what was responsible for the prices we are paying for their actions, and what the administration plans to do to bring the past to book.”
While urging the citizens to support the country’s democratic process, Mr Baba-Ahmed said the judiciary must be encouraged to live up to its expectations.
“What we owe our leaders at this moment are prayers, encouragement, and counsel, not hasty conclusions and condemnation,” he noted.
The elder statesman also expressed hope that the ministerial nominees would meet the expectations of Nigerians.