President Bola Tinubu has told Nigerians that there is no instant fix to the country’s economic crisis occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.
He, however, assured the citizenry that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and urged them to be patient.
The president stated this at the unveiling of Brutally Frank, a 688-page autobiography of former Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark.
Tinubu said that Nigeria’s problems cannot be compared to instant coffee, adding that what the country is going through can be akin to the pain of childbirth, and the joy that follows.
He expressed optimism that the palliatives being rolled by the Federal Government would help in softening the hardship and trauma.
Tinubu, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, described Clark as someone, who belongs to the very rare form of extra-ordinary men, the Iroko of South-South and the Eagle of Nigeria.
Akume said, “He (Tinubu) has also asked me to tell this gathering that we are going through a difficult phase in the history of this country. But these pains are pains of birth, birth of a new nation. And that if you want to celebrate a child, a baby, the mother must go through some pains.
“But at the end of the day, there is joy. There is merriment when the baby arrives. And we will certainly be there.
“Solutions to problems can never be as instant as coffee. But we must certainly be there. I know the removal of fuel subsidy has created some things. And that is why palliatives are being put in place, 100 trucks of fertilizers have been sent to the states, 100 trucks of grains have been sent and more are coming and more buses are also coming.
“We can endure this for a moment. What we’re going through today is for a better tomorrow. Nations are great because citizens have hope. They have hope that tomorrow will be better than today.”