The Pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, has raised concerns about what it describes as the near collapse of the nation under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a communiqué issued by Deputy Leader Oladipo Olaitan and Deputy Secretary General Alade Rotimi-John after their regular quarterly meeting on August 27, 2024, in Isanya-Ogbo, Ogun State, Afenifere stated that the current state of the nation has left the populace bewildered.
Afenifere highlighted that Nigerians are deeply troubled by widespread hardship, crippling hunger, persistent insecurity, runaway inflation, and massive unemployment—all of which have worsened the situation compared to the start of the administration.
The group also criticized the government’s reckless, obstinate, and indifferent attitude towards the long-term consequences of its lack of foresight in managing public funds.
Afenifere lamented the Tinubu administration’s tendency towards wastefulness, citing the purchase of an Airbus A330 jet for the President at $100 million or ₦240 billion, along with an additional $50 million for retrofitting, as unnecessary.
Furthermore, Afenifere pointed out other expenditures, such as ₦950 million each for a new set of armored Cadillac Escalade Limousine SUVs for the President, ₦21 billion for renovating a new mansion for the Vice President, ₦90 billion as a subsidy for religious pilgrimages, and ₦10 billion to renovate the Presidential Lodge on Ribadu Road, Lagos, as examples of the administration’s wastefulness.
“Afenifere is scandalized by the disgrace and poor international image resulting from these wasteful expenditures.
We are bewildered that a government can be so skilled at diversionary tactics, lulling the people into complacency and confusing them amid serious national challenges and ongoing debates about its disorganized approach to governance,” the group stated.
