Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, says many Nigerians are benefiting from the policies and economic reforms of the current administration.
Onanuga spoke on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Tuesday, where he defended the policies of the president and dismissed claims of widespread hardship and insecurity across the country.
The presidential aide argued that perceptions of widespread hunger were being amplified by narratives that took root shortly after Tinubu assumed office.
“We have been pigeon-holed into certain assumptions and conclusions,” he said.
“It’s like in the early days of this government. Somebody did a voice-over saying that we are hungry. Since then, people have been saying that.
“I am a Nigerian; I have people working for me privately. I don’t see the level of hunger people are talking about because I see them (workers) and I keep asking them questions. How are things? How are they adjusting? What are the problems?”
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Onanuga noted that Nigerians are already feeling the impact of the infrastructure projects being executed by the federal government across the country.
He cited his experience while travelling from Ibadan to Lagos, saying he was surprised to discover a newly constructed concrete road through Ijebu-Ode.
“One day, I was travelling from Ibadan to Lagos, and Google Maps told me there was a go-slow as I approached Lagos. So, I decided to take Ijebu-Ode via Sagamu. What struck me was that I just found myself on a paved concrete road. I said, ‘Wow, when was this one built?” he said.
Onanuga added that the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway had also reduced travel time to his residence in Ajah.
“Anytime I go to Lagos and ask Google Maps to tell me how long it will take me to get home, it tells me one hour seven minutes,” he said.
“Before, it used to be two hours 30 minutes. The reason is because we now have a coastal road that has shortened my travel time.”
He also pointed to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CreditCorp) as examples of programmes providing direct benefits to citizens.
“If you are a parent and you have four children in the university, and they are able to access a federal loan which is interest-free, are they not benefiting? If you are a civil servant and you can access CreditCorp, a very cheap loan at a single-digit interest rate, are they not benefiting?” he asked.
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Onanuga also accused the media of exaggerating the country’s security challenges, saying reports often create the impression that the entire country is unsafe.
“The media in Nigeria are even creating the problem. The way they report insecurity is as if the entire country is consumed,” he said.
He cited a recent conversation with the managing director of NELFUND, who, according to him, travelled by road from Abuja to Kebbi without incident.
“Don’t let people frighten you that the entire country is under siege. It is not so. There are security breaches, but the entire country is not under siege,” he added.
The presidential aide also dismissed recent comments by Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on electricity.
Onanuga accused Obi of being ignorant of Nigeria’s installed generation capacity.
“Power generation has increased. We are not at the level the president met it. We already have in Nigeria a stored capacity of 13,500 megawatts,” he said.
He added that the major challenge facing the power sector is gas supply, which he attributed to over N4 trillion in legacy debts owed by operators to gas companies.
