Nigerian lawyer and activist Deji Adeyanju has criticised President Bola Tinubu for his flamboyant spending considering the poor economic state of the country. Adeyanju argued that the size of the presidential convoy alone should be grounds for impeachment if Nigeria’s political system were functioning properly.
He said, “The convoy of the president is enough to get the president impeached if things were working in this country.”
Adeyanju made these remarks during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday while speaking against the recent purchase of a new presidential jet, highlighting that while the President keeps neglecting the citizen’s needs, he continues to spend lavishly on unimportant things which is a glaring example of government insensitivity.
The lawyer said, “For us, from where we are standing, we do not see any sign of goodwill from the president. The most brazen lack of any care for the Nigerian people is the presidential jet that he just launched, a whooping 150 billion naira. The jet that he replaced is still almost a new jet. This new jet, that jet is a passenger plane that can comfortably take 250 passengers. The president does not need that kind of luxury because Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world. Nigeria cannot afford that luxury. We just took a loan from IMF. Our leaders are behaving like bandits. They are extremely insensitive.”
He drew comparisons with other world leaders, noting that the U.S. presidential jet is nearly 50 years old, and the British Prime Minister has been known to fly commercial.
He said, “In the U.S, the U.S presidential jet is almost 50 years old. The British prime minister was still flying commercial of recent. Look at even when it comes to cost of governance, the U.S president, everything he eats in the White House, he pays for it.”
The activist expressed frustration over the economic impact of floating the naira and the removal of fuel subsidies, which he believes are hurting the poor while benefiting the wealthy, including the governors and the president himself. He emphasised that subsidies for the poor ultimately support the broader economy.
He said, “The demands of the protesters were not hatched in a room. Government knows the demands of the protesters. These are popular demands. They resonate with the Nigerian people. The economy is hurting because we have floated the naira. We know that for a fact, Nigeria is dependent on petrol and the protesters have explained why reversing to the old price of fuel will help the economy. The president thinks he is saving the nation but he is actually subsidising the governors. The president is subsidising himself. You don’t want to subsidise the poor. When you subsidise the poor, you are subsidising the economy.”
He accused the president of “suffocating” the populace, despite his earlier promise to “let the poor breathe,” adding that Nigerians have already made enough sacrifices.
“The most important thing and the most relevant thing for me as a citizen is that when this president came on board on May 29, 2023, the president was clear, he was emphatic, he said, ‘dear citizens of Nigeria, I’m appealing to you that you should all make sacrifices for this country.’ Have Nigerians not made sacrifices in the last one year? Have Nigerians not tried? Nigerians can barely breathe. When this president won the election he said let the poor breathe, but he is practically suffocating the life out of the citizens daily. This new jet, that jet is a passenger plane that can comfortably take 250 passengers. The president does not need that kind of luxury because Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world. Nigeria cannot afford that luxury. We just took a loan from IMF. Our leaders are behaving like bandits. They are extremely insensitive.”
Melissa Enoch
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