Veteran Nollywood actor Jide Kosoko has challenged Nigerians complaining about starvation below President Bola Tinubu’s administration, asking what they have been consuming earlier than the president assumed workplace.
Kosoko additionally urged Nigerians to permit Tinubu to finish his tenure, insisting that the president was doing nicely regardless of widespread criticism of his authorities’s financial administration.
The 72-year-old actor made the remarks throughout an interview on Talk To B, a podcast hosted by his colleague, actress Biola Adebayo. The interview was revealed on YouTube on Friday night time.
An outspoken supporter of Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Kosoko argued that the nation’s present financial difficulties have been partly attributable to the failure of earlier administrations to plan adequately for Nigeria’s rising inhabitants.
According to him, Tinubu is now trying to handle issues that successive governments didn’t resolve.
“Things are not as bad as some people made us understand. People make money here and there. Some people might still be unlucky, but that doesn’t mean their time will not come,” he mentioned.
Kosoko maintained that monetary success depended partially on particular person effort, including that individuals mustn’t anticipate alternatives to come back to everybody on the identical time.
He mentioned, “People don’t queue to make money; everybody works for their money and business. It is not turn by turn. You can have your money today; my own time can come today too. I need not wait for you. It all depends on what I do and what you do.”
The actor questioned the circumstances of Nigerians who complain about starvation, suggesting that a few of these expressing dissatisfaction had no significant supply of livelihood earlier than Tinubu turned president.
“When you see individuals saying, I’m hungry. Go and examine the vast majority of these individuals saying that. Before Tinubu got here, what have been they doing?
“What were they eating? Every year, things change. Those that we understand, we understand. Those we abuse, we abuse. I don’t care,” Kosoko mentioned.
He argued that successive administrations had failed to organize adequately for the nation’s inhabitants progress, leaving the present authorities to take care of the implications.
Kosoko additionally attributed Nigeria’s present financial challenges partially to earlier governments’ reluctance to take away the petrol subsidy.
He admitted that leaders of his era had failed to finish the subsidy regime earlier, arguing that the nation was now confronting the implications of selections that had been postponed.
“The free money being used to satisfy you and me needs to be taken back for us to face reality. The reality is that we are not buoyant enough to start enjoying what we are enjoying. We still have quite a few other things to do,” he mentioned.
The actor argued that even when gasoline costs had remained low, Nigerians would nonetheless have wanted to spend cash on important wants, together with faculty charges, enterprise operations, and environmental upkeep.
He cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as one of many authorities’s interventions, arguing that pupil loans might ease the monetary burden on households.
“Look at NELFUND, students’ loan. If the loan is not approved, whatever you have made will go to that school for your children. It has been taken off you,” he mentioned.
Kosoko urged college students and different beneficiaries of presidency programmes to share their experiences so Nigerians might higher perceive the impression of the insurance policies.
Defending Tinubu’s administration, Kosoko urged Nigerians to be affected person and permit the president to finish his programme, arguing that the opposition had little to supply in contrast with the incumbent.
“Let’s allow the man to finish his job. He’s doing well. Regardless of what his opponents are saying, and at any rate, there is nothing he is doing that is bad before them. They want to rubbish what he is doing so you will think they have stocks, but unfortunately, he is already there doing what he understands,” he mentioned.
The actor maintained that criticism of the administration ought to assist the federal government determine areas requiring enchancment relatively than function a foundation for dismissing its efforts.
He additionally referred to as on Nigerians to re-elect Tinubu within the 2027 presidential election, expressing confidence that the president would finally overcome the challenges confronting the nation.
Kosoko additional argued that the federal government shouldn’t be judged solely on whether or not it distributed meals objects on to residents, saying that its insurance policies and funding initiatives might yield longer-term advantages.
He cited feedback attributed to former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as proof that Nigeria was transferring in the fitting route.
“If people like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala confirm that we are on the right track. She has nothing to gain from such a statement. Then, we are on the right track,” he mentioned.
He added that partnerships with Western leaders and buyers might assist Nigeria handle its financial difficulties.
While acknowledging that Nigerians have been experiencing hardship, Kosoko insisted that the nation wanted to confront its financial challenges relatively than postpone tough selections.
“The suffering we should have suffered in the past is what we’re all suffering now. If our generation is still helping ensure that this generation still enjoys it, we have little time left. But most importantly, don’t forget we have generations coming. We need to face it once and for all,” he mentioned.
Describing the interval as tough, the actor urged Nigerians to cooperate with the federal government and stay hopeful in regards to the nation’s future.
“My appeal is this. He will take us out of this mess. He is only cleaning up people’s mess. We should know. If we don’t cooperate, let it happen, and join in enduring this pain, we won’t reach the promised land. But by God’s grace, we will get to the promised land,” Kosoko mentioned.
He additionally raised the query of who would succeed Tinubu after his tenure, warning that the following president would wish to maintain the tough reforms and insurance policies required to maintain the nation transferring ahead.
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