President Bola Tinubu has stated that Nigeria could not continue to service external debt with about 90 per cent of its revenue, hence the hard decision his administration was making in that regard.
He said this while declaring open the 63rd Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja on Sunday, August 27, 2023. “Can we continue to service external debts with 90% of our revenue? It is a path to destruction. It is not sustainable. We must make the very difficult changes that are necessary for our country to get up from slumber and be respected among the great nations of the world,” he said.
The President noted that poverty eradication and investment promotion for wealth creation depend on justice reform. Speaking on the theme of the conference, “Getting it Right: Charting the Course for Nigeria’s Nation-Building,” Tinubu said that decisions must be taken to set the country on a growth path.
“We cannot have the country we desire without the reforms we have initiated. It is painful at the beginning, in the short and medium term, but we must do what we have to do to take this nation to its great destiny.
“It is not about you, and it is not about me. It is about our generations yet unborn, for whom we must bequeath a great and prosperous country,” he said. The president stated that world-class remuneration for legal professionals would also sanitise the judiciary for a prosperous Nigeria.
He said a new Nigeria was possible with his ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda, but it would require taking bold decisions that would be painful at first but beneficial at the end. President Tinubu noted that the bold steps his administration was taking to find lasting solutions to the challenges confronting the country would succeed only with the cooperation and collaboration of all, especially the private sector.
Tinubu said: “I am not cynical, I am factual; the critical and bold initiatives embarked upon will yield the desired results only with collaboration and cooperation of the private sector.
“We are so blessed, and we are still lacking, change of mindset is what we need. We accused our previous leaders, we complain too much about the past, it is not the solution, we must look forward, God has given us creative minds and will.”
He commended the NBA for the theme of the event which he said was timely and implored the association to give his administration maximum support in order to succeed.
Also speaking at the event, billionaire businessman, Tony Elumelu, said eradication of poverty in the country is the ultimate solution to insecurity and extremism.
Elumelu said: “Poverty anywhere is a threat to all of us everywhere, the ultimate panacea for insecurity and extremism is prosperity. “This is why all of us must think of legacy and play our role and part now that we can, to urgently support our young ones to become economically engaged, else we are doomed.
“We must give them hope. Hope of a better tomorrow. Let us not underestimate the power of hope. Hope is what fuels the dreams of our youth, what ignites the determination of our entrepreneurs, and what unites us in our pursuit of a better future.
“Nations that prioritise their young go far. It is no coincidence that America that created Harvard and Stanford, also produced Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. We need the same focus on our young, their futures and ambitions.”
