The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has strongly criticized President Bola Tinubu’s speech delivered on Monday, describing it as academic and detached from the harsh realities faced by the 130 million impoverished Nigerians.
HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement on Tuesday, expressed dissatisfaction with Tinubu’s failure to present plans for the revival of public refineries, despite the previous APC government’s substantial investment in renovating them.
Furthermore, the group accused Tinubu of lacking a clear strategy to apprehend and prosecute crude oil thieves, responsible for a staggering loss of $10 billion to Nigeria in just seven months. “Between January and July, Nigeria lost an average of 437,000 barrels of oil daily, stolen by criminal entities tapping pipelines onshore and offshore in the Niger Delta region”.
HURIWA further emphasized that the stolen oil’s value exceeded $10 billion, equivalent to N4.3 trillion, which significantly impacted Nigeria’s external reserves and revenue.
Additionally, the group called for politicians to set an example by cutting excessive spending while urging Nigerians to persevere amid increasing costs of living following Tinubu’s removal of the petrol subsidy.
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As critics claim that Tinubu’s measures lacked practicality and failed to address crucial issues directly, HURIWA urged politicians to take decisive actions to protect Nigerians from further economic deprivation and starvation due to the current administration’s policies.
