Elder statesman and former governor of Old Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari makes him sad because nothing has worked under his administration.
The former governor said this while fielding questions from Sun newspapers on situations and events that made him sad in the country last year.
He said, “One of them is the inability of this government to perform. Because everybody expected this government to make a difference but they have not. In some areas they are even making things worse.”
Speaking on the New Year speech of Buhari, the former governor insisted, “I am not impressed in any way. How can I be when the ordinary people in a country that produce petrol, cannot buy it at a reasonable price?
“As I am talking to you now in most parts of Nigeria, a litre of fuel sells for N200. Our economy, in the name of privatisation has deteriorated so much. Why has the situation become so bad? It is because of the foreign manipulations that want to hand the leading role of the economy to the private sector.
“Our economy was stable and progressive when we had the leading role of the state in the economy. Back then one dollar was sold at one naira. Presently, there is nothing to enable the government to control prices, corruption and unemployment.
“How can you expect the private sector to solve this problem? Whether we like it or not the role of the public sector must be strengthened. So that everybody must make public interest first and the enlightened self interest second. There is no other way round.”
Balarabe also maintained that the country must be restructured, adding that people talking against it were the ones stealing and stagnating the country.
He continued, “Those people that are talking against restructuring are the ones who are stealing public funds using the institutions we have today particularly the leading role of private sector.
“Look at the scandals in the oil industry, pension fund in everywhere. This stealing has been facilitated by the attempt to privatize everything and bring about minimal government input.
“That is the situation in which government can only just oversee key economic sectors.”