Nigerian comedian, Oluwaseyitan Aletile, popularly known as SeyiLaw, who is an ardent supporter of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Monday wrote an open letter to him, asking him to firm up his economic policies so as to mitigate the hardship, hunger and sufferings the people are going through.
In a lengthy post on his X account @seyilaw1, the comedian who was a leading social media influencer for the president during the campaigns, warned that it would be a sad thing for the President lose the goodwill of the over 8.9 million people who voted for him to become president on account of the hardship and sufferings they are now going through.
The comedian who was just a bit short of asking President Tinubu to reverse the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, recalled that in 2012, President Tinubu was at the forefront of the call for Nigerians to stand up against plans by then President Goodluck Jonathan to remove Subsidy and that Nigerians heeded his call then.
The full post is reproduced below:
AN OPEN LETTER TO MR. PRESIDENT.
Mr. President, @officialABAT
I know you’re not new to the complexity of governance in Nigeria, and I truly hope you’re feeling the pulse of the nation at this point in time. I am one of your ardent supporters, and I won’t hesitate to be one of your critics when necessary. Sir, may I cast your mind back to 2012 when your party was able to convince Nigerians who had just had a beautiful yuletide celebration to take over the street in protest of the removal of subsidy on fuel. It was such a turning point for Jonathan’s administration and ushered in President Muhammadu Buhari. It might interest you to know that I wasn’t one of the Nigerians convinced then to vote Buhari. Can you now imagine what great protest it would be for Nigerians to troop into the streets because of hunger, insecurity and inability to afford basic amenities?. I don’t want to imagine it and talk more of joining them.
Your Excellency, good intentions are mere intentions without proper implementations. There are certain things that I expected will be quickly fixed to mitigate the impact of the fuel subsidy removal. I am yet to see a fully implemented plan in the short term. I used Moses and the Israelites’ journey from Egypt as an analogy in one of my write-ups, and it wasn’t a mistake. It was deliberate as you probably know that the Israelites got to a point and began to complain, preferring to go back to slavery in Egypt rather than moving forward. They got tired of Manna, and now Nigerians are asking, “Where is our manna for this time?” I waited for almost 2 years to join a protest against the former President Buhari’s administration because I believe that at least every new administration needs a minimum of one and a half years to stabilise. For every tick and tock on the clock, time is running on your administration.
Mr. President, it will be sad to lose the goodwill of over 8.9 million people who voted you because of the incompetence of the people in your cabinet. I believe at the mark of one year, there should be an appraisal of everyone, and those found wanting must go. Please, Sir, we are waiting patiently on the PCNG buses initiative and soft measures on food availability and affordability. The issue of electricity is deeply concerning. We need members of your cabinet to communicate more effectively with visible action plans. Nigerians followed the continuous updates from the minister of interior, the actions of Governor Wike, and the progress of minister Bosun Tijani. We are therefore forced to ask what the others are doing because we don’t want a situation where someone who served with you will enjoy the liberty of going on the media to proffer solutions where he or she one’s failed.
While I support your Excellency, I will keep asking the tough questions and not stop until you achieve success for the greater good of the nation. This nation must and should be better for all.
Thank you, your Excellency.
SEYILAW.
