Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga has said Ijebu people have stopped complaining about President Bola Tinubu’s policies because they are now experiencing tangible benefits from federal projects and economic programs.
Speaking on Arise News, Onanuga was asked why public frustration appears to be growing despite government claims that reforms are working. He questioned whether any poll has been done to confirm rising frustration and said he has toured about eight or nine states, including Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, and Kaduna.
He said the level of anger being discussed is not what he observed on the ground, as people he met were praising the president. He gave a personal example from a recent trip between Ibadan and Lagos.
He said when Google Maps showed traffic toward Lagos, he diverted through Ijebu Ode and Shagamu and found himself on a new concrete road. He said he had not used that route in some time and was surprised by the improvement.
He argued that federal student loans and single-digit credit facilities for civil servants are additional benefits. He said parents with children in university can access interest-free loans, and workers can now get cheap loans at about 7 percent interest.
He maintained that Nigerians are benefiting and that assumptions about hunger and hardship are exaggerated compared to what he sees in his own household and among his staff.
In his words, “One day I was travelling from Ibadan to Lagos, and Google Maps told me that there was traffic in the approach to Lagos. I decided to take Ijebu Ode, via Shagamu. And what struck me was that I just found myself on a paved road, a concrete road.”
“I said, wow, when was this one built? I’ve not been to Ijebu for some time, and a few times I’ve been there, I only came through Ekpe. So I said, wow, this is different.”
“And I found that our people, when I say our people, Ijebu people, they’ve stopped complaining. I said, oh, no wonder. They now have a brand new road that’s not just an asphalt road, a concrete road.”
