Ace comedian and entertainment guru Gbenga Adeyinka has stated that President Bola Tinubu has nothing to gain or lose if the country fails to progress under his leadership, adding that the president is still the right person to steer the affairs of the country.
Adeyinka, speaking on a podcast released by TheCable over the weekend, disclosed his membership in the All Progressives Congress, emphasizing that President Tinubu’s previous achievements as Lagos governor qualify him to tackle Nigeria’s economic issues and drive the nation toward success.
He said, “If I’m passionate about you, I’m passionate about you. That’s my problem. And I believe that, and please take this to the bank, if Asiwaju (Tinubu) cannot set Nigeria right, then we’re in trouble. With his capacity, with what he knows, with the fact that he has nothing to gain or lose anymore, if he cannot set Nigeria right, then we’re in trouble. I’m scared for Nigeria,” Adeyinka said.
“Even before the election, people were taking sides. Am I happy with the policies of the government? I suffer too. People should not forget that I’m a Nigerian too. Now, am I happy with the policies of Asiwaju? Some yes, some no.
“The man explained something. He said, we have two options. We go the way we are going. I’ll be attacked for this one, but I’ll say my mind. We go the way we have always gone. We keep borrowing money. We keep using our crude, for instance, I’m told has been used to borrow money. We can change that and have a better tomorrow. Or, we continue this way and everybody is happy, and your children suffer.
Adeyinka, who praised certain policies of the current administration, such as subsidy removal and local government autonomy, also criticized the government for being wasteful.
“Do I believe he should have ended subsidy, although he was not even the one that ended the fuel subsidy thing. I support fuel subsidy removal totally because of the amount of corruption that was in it.
“Do I think they’ve done a good job by tightening their belts when we need to tighten our belts? No. I believe that those cars that were bought for members of the national assembly was an unnecessary oppression of the people, of the people who are suffering. What else have they done? I see a lot of restructuring taking place.
“Local governments are to get their money directly. If you have a vibrant local government, you can build the country from bottom up, which is the way they do it abroad. Will governors allow the money get to the local government? Some governors have said no, nine or so.
“If you get the local government right, it’s like getting a family right. Society will be better. Should people have gone on the streets to protest? There’s a fundamental right of protest. Should they have said the summit should be cancelled? No.
“Those are constitutional issues that should be dealt with constitutionally. I think what should have been done is to ask for a constitutional review. You can’t use illegality to remove someone legally elected.”
Speaking further, Adeyinka urged the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, and others, such as Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress and Kingsley Moghalu to vie for National Assembly seats to help rewrite the country’s laws.
“There are some people who are professional politicians. That is their job. You now wake up and say you want to come and… they will not even give you ticket. With our current structure, it takes the grace of men for you to become president,” he said.
“That’s why when I see them Sowore, saying they want to be president, Fela Durotoye wants to be president, Peter Obi wants to be president, and there’s one very intelligent guy, Moghalu wants to be president… I think we need to get these young people into the house of reps, into the senate, to rewrite our laws.
“If Peter Obi becomes president of Nigeria with the same structure we have in place, there’s nothing he’s going to do.”
