A lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan, Dr. Idowu Johnson, has declared that the scarcity of basic necessities of life among citizens may lead to political instability in the country.
Johnson, who spoke during an interview with Newspot in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Tuesday, advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other political office holders to learn from what is happening in Kenya.
The don lamented that basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter are becoming scarce daily among citizens.
He revealed that this scarcity may lead to chaos, resulting in political instability similar to what is currently happening in Kenya if the situation is not urgently addressed.
Johnson, an Associate Professor of International Relations, said that Nigerians now live based on the principle of survival of the fittest. He urged governments at all levels to urgently find ways to provide basic necessities for citizens to avoid uproar across the country.
Speaking further, Johnson maintained that the removal of subsidies on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is having negative consequences on citizens. He added that what happened in Kenya is a signal for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other political office holders to sit tight and address the situation immediately.
Johnson said, “The first thing we must do is political restructuring. Those people who have been calling for Biafra, bring them to the negotiation table. What is the problem? You have to address it. You have to first look at the root causes of the problem.
“The Biafran agitation has not been resolved. The problems that came out from that Biafran agitation have not been resolved. In the South West, the more you have a large number of youths that are unemployed, the more you have them recruited for violent crimes.
“In the South East, we have a lot of people that are jobless. It is now even worse under Tinubu’s government; we were still managing it during Buhari’s regime. A graduate without a job, people that have no job, will find any means to survive. And survival of the fittest is what is obtained in Nigeria now.
“The only thing Nigeria can do is first restructure, so that we can now address the perennial problem. The second thing is that the Nigerian state must come back to reality by providing essential services and social amenities to the people.
“Some people don’t want to collect one million naira as salary, but if they can have the basic things of life—food, clothing, and shelter. But even the basic things of life are not forthcoming. To eat in Nigeria at a time, one needs an average of one thousand naira, that is three thousand naira per day for one person. Where do you want people to get that?
“And if this continues, there will be chaos, and chaos can lead to political instability. The signal is what we experienced in Kenya, and it is a signal for Nigeria to sit up.
“If all these things continue, Nigeria may experience political instability. Removal of subsidies, food crisis, unemployment, lack of basic amenities—these are the causes of crimes in Nigeria.”
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