By Christopher Njoku

A coalition of civil society organisations under the aegis, Stand Up for Nigeria (SUN), has urged Nigerians to stop blaming President Muhammadu Buhari for the current hardship in Nigeria.

The South-West coordinator (SUN), Comrade John Blessing, who led a rally, yesterday in Lagos, in solidarity with the anti-corruption fight of President Buhari, said that present government should not be blamed for infliction of hardship on Nigerians.

He said that the economic recession of today would have been averted, if the past government was half sincere as the Buhari government.

Blessing said: “The economic recession is real. The fall in the value of the Naira is real. Inflation that has taken away the purchasing power of Nigerians is real. But these are not the only real things we know in this country. The looting of public treasury by previous administrations is real.

One Million man rally for president Muhammadu Buhari by stand up for Nigeria (SUN), a coalition of civil society organizations.

Why then would some people ignore these realities, these other realities, and take to the streets to accuse the present government of inflicting hardship on Nigerians? Are they saying that they are not aware that the only reality they see, the economic recession they are lamenting about, might have been averted if the past governments, on behalf of which they are now acting, had been half as sincere as the government of President Muhammadu Buhari? Where was the United Action for Democracy (UAD) when different democratically elected governments were organizing bazaars and converting budgetary allocations into personal allowances?”

He advised Nigerians to focus their energy in making contributions towards supporting the government, to deliver the economy of the country.

His words: “Dear compatriots, let us not waste time on these yesterday men. Instead of giving them undue publicity let us focus that energy on making contributions towards supporting Mr President to deliver the Nigeria of our vision. Let us see where and how we fit into the anti-corruption fight, diversification of the economy, supporting made in Nigeria goods, becoming employment creators and doing other things that change Nigeria for good.”

Blessing also said that the present administration has alleviated the plight of the down trodden in the country, through the ongoing conditional cash transfer programme.

“His government has not left out the unemployed youth who are now getting monthly stipends of N30000 while they have been matched with work places where they will acquire skills and experiences for future job. 200,000 youths are part of the first batch while more is to follow. While Mr President continues to do the work he was elected to do, we will be educating ourselves on the relationship between the failings of the past government and the economic hardship of today while preparing to be beneficiaries of the years of economic booms that lie ahead because of the sacrifices being made to lay a solid foundation for Nigeria”, he said.