By Segun Fatuase
Elder statesman, Chief Bode George has advised the Bola Tinubu administration to come up with short, medium and long term policies in addressing the scarcity of food instead of importing staple food items.
‘’ Importing food is not the solution. There should be policies to address the situation. Government should come up with short, medium and long term policies. It can give out loans at almost zero percent to the people. It can even subsidise fertilizer for farmers’’, he advised.
George who commented on current issues affecting Nigeria at a press conference in Lagos today said government needs to do more to address the tight situation Nigerians are currently facing by taking the right steps at this crucial time in the life of the country.
‘’Those in the affairs of the management should put a smile on the faces of Nigerians. Nigeria is in a political and economic Intensive Care Unit. We need a freshness of breadth. Solutions proffered by the administration are mendacious . Their proffered solutions can never work. Many Nigerians cannot eat or get any meal,’’ he said.
Chief Bode George, a retired Naval boss and former governor also advised the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa not to get involved in political issues stressing that he should rather involve in what is called “Special Operations” in military language, an approach which would ensure the defence of youths during a protest rather than fighting them..
“We are in a democratic dispensation. People must be able to express their feelings about the activities of the government. Those who went out peacefully are only exercising their democratic rights’’, George said.
Talking further, he said that the manner the government handled the protest situation further buttressed the need for a state police because “every police situation is local’’
On the oil industry, Chief Bode George said Nigerians need to know the true situation in the sector.
“ Let the government be honest and truthful to Nigerians. We need to address the issues surrounding our oil sector and why we are importing crude oil to service Dangote Refinery. What exactly is the truth? The implication of selling crude oil to Aliko in naira is not right,’’ he added.