•Aare Afe Babalola, SAN
Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, has lamented the rising inflation rate in the country, calling on President Bola Tinubu to urgently take decisive action towards saving the nation’s economy.
The renowned legal icon argued that the rising prices of goods and services and the devaluation of the naira were creating hardships on Nigerians as the masses laboriously struggled to make ends meet, reports Nigerian Tribune.
Speaking during the sixth induction ceremony of 161 medical doctors 2023 graduating set of ABUAD by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) at the weekend , the elder statesman said the inflationary level and volatility of naira which has reached an unassuming rate was adversely affecting manufacturing industries, with the cost of production skyrocketed and putting pressures on consumers.
Babalola said that the current economic situation was pushing many Nigerians deeper into abject poverty and as such propelled some frustrated individuals to venture in criminal activities for survival.
He admonished President Bola Tinubu to implement solution-driven interventions aimed at taming inflation and protecting the naira to alleviate inflationary pressures on Nigerians by encouraging local production of food with financial , security and seedlings support to farmers.
According to him, “Many farmers have left their farmland now because of kidnappers, something has to be urgently done about the issue of kidnapping and farmers have to be encouraged to go back to their farms.
“It is saddening that Monarchs were killed recently, it is an unusual development; so, what is behind all these is the fact that we have no money, our money has no value, our currency is as worthless as toilet paper, something has to be done about naira and productivity.
“I have seen people especially, in the North and other places who are taking to the streets agitating because of the fact that the naira is getting worse, food prices are high, no employment, and those who get it are not paid. Something has to be done about it.”
Speaking on the continuous migration of young people abroad, Babalola advised the newly inducted 161 medical doctors against running away from the country to practice abroad.
He said that the youths representing the virile segment of the population should be encouraged to stay back and build the country, adding that certain things must be done to discourage the youths from leaving in droves.
“The Japa syndrome is a new development in the country. This syndrome has to stop and the only way to stop it is to increase the salaries and wages of workers, which in my own case I did by increasing the salary of my workers by 35 percent.”
Speaking, the registrar of MDCN , Tajudeen Sanusi who congratulated ABUAD for the feats achieved in the last few years , adding that the private institution has helped in no small way to bridge the wide gap of doctors to patient ratio.
Sanusi advised the new doctors to be professional and disciplined in the course of their career, saying that their expertise were needed to ensure universal health coverage for the nation.
The Registrar encouraged the new doctors not to travel the country but to contribute to nation building, adding that, “ if your teachers in ABUAD had travelled out of the country, you will not see anyone to teach you.”
