BY DAVID ADUGE-ANI, ABUJA
As the nation-wide hunger protests entered it’s fifth day, an economic expert, Prince Igho Sadjere, has advised Nigerians to be mindful of the adverse effects of the ongoing protests to the Nigerian economy.
Prince Sadjere, who spoke during an interview with our reporter, noted that the protests would cause more damages to the nation’s properties, while man-hours would be lost, adding that every single minute lost during the protest can never be recalled.
He pointed out that the government is sacred of the protests, noting that this is the first time, in the history of the country, that government is agitated and scared of the people, because all over the world, protest is going on.
Sadjere, who a democracy activist and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria (ICEN), said in going forward, Nigerians must be part and parcel of government.
He continued, “In US today, as their presidential election is coming up in November, the citizens are the ones funding and sponsoring the presidential candidates, whereas in Nigeria, the candidates are the ones funding the citizens.
So, in Nigeria, we need to hold the government, because in US, the people hold the government, whereas in Nigeria, the government holds the people.
So, in going forward, we must all come together. There are certain policies in Nigeria that are comatosed and we need to do away with them.
For instance, we need to work on our electoral system. These are what affects the economy, because everyone wants to focus on the little things coming to the government.
The state governments are coming to the federal government at the end of every month because of allocation they get.
But if the different states can work on their internal generated revenues, it will be better, because government is from the grassroots.
It is not just the president alone. We have the councillors, local government chairmen, the state governors. So, to me, if everybody owns up to their responsibilities, things will work better.”