President Doesn’t Take To Advice; I See No Light; Says Tinubu’s Deputy
A one-time deputy governor of Lagos State, Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele has described incumbent President Bola Tinubu as one “who does not listen to anyone because he believes he know it all.”
Bola Tinubu was governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007.
In an interview with Tribune, when asked if the President can benefit from her advice given the prevailing economy of the country, Kofoworola, who was Tinubu’s deputy between 1999 and 2002, stated that he (Tinubu) does not listen to advice.
“I don’t think the president would want my advice. I don’t think he is the kind of person that takes to advice. After all, I was his deputy. I don’t believe he is the kind of person that takes to advice. He seems to have the mindset that he knows it all.”
On the state of the economy she noted that, there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.
“There is no consolation I can give them because I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. The situation is bad. In fact, it is appalling. People cannot eat. Even I have to watch my finances now because there are so many people that I have to help.”
“When my phone rings in the morning, it is somebody asking for financial assistance. When the situation is like this, it is really terrible” she stated.
“I am sorry to say that I think it has been a disaster. It has been a complete disaster because [Muhammadu] Buhari’s government was bad enough and one would have expected that Tinubu would have tried to turn things around, but he has not done that. He has been playing to the gallery. He has, in fact, been spending money on himself and his cronies, instead of actually doing something to better the life of the ordinary man.” she further said.
Kofowola also argued that Tinubu did not work effectively as a Lagos state governor, arguing that the development witnessed in Lagos cannot be ascribed to him.
“I don’t know what he did in Lagos. Lagos has become a big slum. That is what I can see. He says he saved the Bar Beach or Victoria Island from being swallowed by the Atlantic Ocean, but all that he did was to push erosion further down the coast to Alpha Beach. What kind of saving is that? I cannot attribute any development in Lagos to him.”
This comes amid economic challenges facing the country with food inflation and general inflation threatening survival of Nigerians.
The federal government also raised the price of petroleum per litre recently, adding to the hardship facing the country.
