Can we continue to service external debts with 90% of our revenue? It is a path to destruction. It is not sustainable. We must make the very difficult changes that are necessary for our country to get up from slumber and be respected among the great nations of the world
President Tinubu
By Abdallah el-Kurebe
ASHENEWS reports that President Bola Tinubu has said that for Nigeria to continue servicing external debts with 90 percent of revenue is path to destruction.
He further declared that the country will not sustain failed economic theory in which 90 percent of its scarce revenue is wasted in the service of external debts, while we face many development challenges.
Tinubu stated this while declaring the Annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), at the Velodrome, Chief MKO Abiola Stadium, attended by 16,190 lawyers in Abuja on Sunday.
Tinubu stated that the prosperity Nigerians require will only occur once poverty is banished from the society with the focused cooperation of Nigeria’s private sector leaders, many of whom were present at the opening ceremony.
“Can we continue to service external debts with 90% of our revenue? It is a path to destruction. It is not sustainable. We must make the very difficult changes that are necessary for our country to get up from slumber and be respected among the great nations of the world,” the President thundered.
Speaking on the theme of the conference, “Getting it Right: Charting the Course for Nigeria’s Nation-Building,” the President stated that hard decisions must be made to set the country on a growth trajectory, despite the initial pains which meaningful reforms usually bring.
“We cannot have the country we desire without the reforms we have initiated. It is painful at the beginning, in the short and medium term, but we must do what we have to do to take this nation to its great destiny. It is not about you and it is not about me. It is about our generations yet unborn, for whom we must bequeath a great and prosperous country,” he affirmed.
Against the backdrop of the renowned judicial reforms he undertook as Lagos State Governor, President Tinubu renewed his commitment to deal conclusively with the pressing issue of renumeration for judicial officers and legal practitioners, noting that true justice reform must begin with world-class salaries and benefits for legal professionals in Nigeria.
“You are learned. I want to learn. Why are we so blessed and we are still lacking? We must have a change of attitude and a change of our mindset. We accuse our nation and its previous leaders. We complain alot of the past. Is that the solution? No! Let us look forward and be determined! God has given us what we need. We must work hard with determination to make our country great and it begins with you who are seated here with me,” the President exclaimed.
Referring to the Keynote address delivered by the Chairman of UBA Plc and Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu, who he praised for setting an agenda for economic growth and development, President Tinubu bemoaned the inability of the country to eradicate poverty and tackle poor electricity supply, despite Nigeria’s abundance of gas.
He made a commitment that his administration will ensure that Nigeria generates and distributes the electricity the economy requires to thrive.
“Yes, it is a shame not to have adequate electricity for the mass majority of homes in Nigeria and to power our industries. How can we address poverty without electricity? We can take many people out of poverty with uninterrupted electricity supply. Poverty is not acceptable, and we must banish it,” President Tinubu concluded.
In his welcome address, NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, expressed the confidence of the NBA in the ability of President Bola Tinubu to deliver good governance to Nigeria because of his pedigree and past track record of excellent performance in Lagos State, where he was the governor between 1999-2007.
