‘Politicians have made Nigeria unlivable for youths’

• Urges Tinubu, Senate to cut cost of governance
• Surveyors rue exit of professionals to advanced nations

The presidential candidate of KOWA Party (KP) in the 2015 election, Prof. Remi Sonaiya, yesterday, urged President Bola Tinubu and presiding officers of the National Assembly to urgently cut the cost of governance to complement the masses’ patience with the outcome of economic policies of the current administration.

Sonaiya, who stated this during the seventh L.L Ali yearly and third memorial lecture, organised by the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS), Oyo State Branch, said the migration of Nigerian youths abroad wasbecause of bad governance.

The don, who was chairman of the occasion, called for new class of leadership in Nigeria that would engender strong constitution and electoral laws to reflect the wishes of the common people, as well as an enlightened citizenry.

She also urged Nigerians not to be cowed by the instruments of cohesion from speaking truth to those in power, adding that the movement has started in countries like Senegal, Kenya and some other African countries that are currently experiencing development.

Sonaiya maintained that the Nigerian government was wrong to have asked the poor citizens to be patient with the government on the harsh effects of the petroleum subsidy removal while the political class could not make same sacrifice.

“Politicians have made the land unhabitable for the youths,” she said.

She described the late Surveyor L.L Ali as an engaging father of all while she was a young girl as a friend of the Ali family, urging young ones to emulate the spirit of honesty that the late surveyor embodied while alive.

In his remarks, National President of NIS, who was also the Special Guest of Honour at the event, Dr. Matthew Ibitoye, called on surveyors in Oyo State to keep up the task of shaping the environment, ensure proper utilisation of land resources and contribute to sustainable development of the country.

Also, the Guest lecturer, Prof.Ayobami Hammed of the Department of Counselling and Human Development Studies at the University of Ibadan, who was represented by Prof. Adebayo Oluwole, spoke on the theme of the 2023 lecture titled, “Dynamics of Underdevelopment in Africa: Exit of Professionals To Advanced Nations.”

He opined that studies showed that 50 percent of Nigerians surveyed would have cancelled their migration plans if Nigeria had met their specific conditions, which include peaceful environment, better economic conditions, access to competitive and fairly-paid job opportunities and effective leadership.

“The streets are desolate; people are hungry and angry in Nigeria. The Niger Republic that the whole world thought was agitated with the fear of a looming war is now calm, as diplomatic efforts are in place to settle the political impasse there.

“I support Sonaiya to say politicians have made the land inhabitable for the youths. So, young Nigerians have no choice than to emigrate. It is a pity we have trusted wrong and incompetent people to lead us,” he lamented.