The President Bola Tinubu-led administration has been referred to as the most difficult in Nigerian history by Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), a former president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA).
This follows the criticism he got after the media went quiet on the certificate scandal between Tinubu and Chicago State University, CSU, while the Supreme Court mulled over the case.
In a recent interview, Agbakoba lamented the increase in food costs brought on by the Tinubu administration’s elimination of subsidies.
He asserts that Tinubu is involved in a number of disputes, including the socioeconomic crisis brought on by the policy of subsidy elimination, the single exchange rate, the threat of a national shutdown by the Labour Congress, the fight to give tranquilizers to soothe frazzled nerves, and more.
“President Tinubu has taken on a very challenging assignment. Let us assume that President Tinubu is the captain of an aircraft. Tinubu takes off from the runway; he has to climb out to a particular altitude. You know, in climbing, some pilots have a very smooth climb, while others have very turbulent climbing. Tinubu has been contending with two major headwinds.
“One is the issue of the removal of subsidies, and another is the exchange control issue. How he handles them will depend on his skills as a pilot. But the climbing is very difficult.
“When you are climbing out and you hit the headwind, you have to be in full focus. So, the climb-out has been extremely tough.
“There is no doubt about it. What I think is that he ought to be using full power because when a pilot is climbing, he has the power to trot. What I see Captain Tinubu doing at this stage is using only 50 percent of his throttle power.
“He needs to push that throttle to the limit so that the climb-out can be great. I will say that the turbulence will continue until the Supreme Court makes its final decision.
“What is obvious is that Nigerians have to go through a very tough time. It has been the toughest time in the history of this country since independence, as garri, rice, vegetables, and other staple foods are way out of the reach of the common man,” he said.