Hardship: Palliatives not the answer, Abdulsalami tells FG

A former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, has called on the federal government to remedy the present hardship confronting Nigerians.

He spoke on Tuesday in Minna, Niger state, when he hosted a delegation of Campaign for Democracy (CD), a Civil Society Organisation (CSO).

While stating that hardship appears to be out of control, the former military ruler said he would continue to urge the government to put measures in place to address the hardship that the citizens are currently experiencing.

He said: “Everybody is crying because of this hardship and it seems to be getting out of control.

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“People cannot afford three square meals, the issue of transportation, the hike in fuel price, the hike in school fees for the children and the lack of funds in everybody’s pocket is making life difficult for everybody.

“We will continue to encourage the government to introduce measures to soften the hardship. The federal, states and local governments should see how they can cushion this economic hardship.”

He said as far as he was concerned, giving palliatives to the people was not the answer to the high prices of food and other items across the country.

 “The answer is the need for the government to flood and saturate the communities with food. Let the government buy food and sell it at lesser prices, so people can buy the food items of their choice, depending on their income,” the former head of state said.

He advised those planning to protest against the economic crisis on October 1 to do so peacefully.

“For God’s sake when you demonstrate, do it peacefully,” he said.