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Don’t allow social media lies push you into setting Nigeria ablaze – Minister tells Youths
Joel Ajayi
Minister of State for Youth development, Mr. Olawande Ayodele has urged Nigerian youths not to allow contents they see on social media push them into setting the country ablaze.
Ayodele made this appeal in Abuja when the Renewed Hope Ambassadors of Nigeria led by Veteran nollywood actor, Zark Orji paid him a courtesy visit.
According to the Minister, most of the content on social media are lies been peddled by politicians to give President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration a bad name.
“We are pleading, we are begging, we are appealing to everybody, we are sure that this country is in a safe hand, we should not allow political people to tell us things that are not correct, we should make sure that this five applications that we are using, facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat are not used as tools to destabilize the country.
“I also want the traders to know that if this thing happens, it will first get to them before anybody. We don’t want people to use this avenue to disrupt the government and the citizens of this country. Yes, you have the right to protest, you have the right to express your displeasure but we are saying that it is time to make research and talk to ourselves and know where these things are affecting us and have a roundtable with the government because this is a listening government.”
Ayodele pleaded with Nigerians to rethink their decision and shelve plans to embark on a nationwide protest, assuring the youths that the president mean well for the country.
“A lot of things have been put in place, we have never had it so good that the minimum wage was increased by 130 percent but the president has done that and even approved a three year review against the initial five years, within one year alone, the Tinubu Administration has approved the disbursement of 10billion naira to 36 states and the FCT for the procurement of CNG buses to reduce transportation costs across the country.
“He has also approved 35billion naira student’s loan with a record of 70,000 successful applicants and has also suspended duties, tariffs and taxes for the importation of certain food commodities. We need to love and support the country.”
Speaking earlier, Orji who noted that the planned protest is directionless, warned that it may lead to widespread unrest and instability, deterring investments and stifling economic growth in various sectors including disruption of production and events as well as impacting the livelihoods of many.
He stated: “This directionless protest could lead to widespread unrest and instability, deterring investments and stifling economic growth in various sectors including disrupting production and events, impacting the livelihoods of many.
“Public services and infrastructure might be compromised, further straining healthcare and education. Such protests can also deepen societal divisions, making it harder to achieve unity and address our nation’s challenges.
“Just recently, Kenya chose a similar path and now her citizens wish they had done things differently. We urge citizens to consider these consequences and seek more constructive avenuesfor change.”
Noting that the group recognises the challenges and pain faced by many Nigerians because of government policies and actions, Orji maintained that they are hard but necessary choices for the growth of Nigeria.
“From the perspective of Renewed Hope Ambassadors and otherstakeholders, this planned protest from unknown people poses significant risks across Nigeria.
The said protest is being championed by masked entities who want to leverage on the current events to hijack and sabotage the efforts of this administration and we patriotic citizens. In fact, this is an effort to take us back to ground zero.” He added.
According to Orji, Renewed Hope Ambassadors has launched the “Jagaban Will Fix It Nigeria Project” as part of their contrilbution to nation building.
Thie initiative, he explained plans to address concerns through an upcoming town hall meeting for open dialogue and by launching capacity-building initiatives to engage young people and informal sectors in rural areas.
He added: “This project aims to reach 100 communities and empower 5,000 individuals, providing support and opportunities for growth, in FCT and further execute in 36 states.
“We urgently plead with our fellow Nigerians and other stakeholders in the entertainment industry to desist from the planned protest.
“Our platforms and influence can be used to foster unity and advocate for meaningful solutions, rather than actions that may lead to further unrest.
“Let us channel our collective energy towards positive initiatives that contribute to the progress and stability of our nation,” Orji concluded.
News
Economic Hardship: Accountants, Best To Lead A Country Out of Recession And At Other Times – Ms. Patricia Adenike Balogun
A United Kingdom-based Nigerian accountant and investment expert, Ms Patricia Adenike Balogun, has urged Nigerians to have faith and confidence in the capacity of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to turn around the economic fortune of Nigeria.
According to her, the president is well endowed with all accounting and management tools, including the right leadership qualities to transform the Nigerian economy to a prosperous one.
Speaking from London in a Zoom interview with Nigerian journalists in Abuja, Ms. Balogun said, accountants are the best set of professionals that can lead a country out of recession and during the time of prosperity because they are visionaries, innovative and risk takers.
Ms. Patricia Balogun, an Accountant herself, also expressed confidence that the President could leverage on his background in the profession to task his professional colleagues on planning policies capable of reviving several sectors of the Nigerian economy made comatose by the harsh situation bedevilling the country.
She, additionally, asked that the government should reduce the tax burden on small businesses in order to help them navigate and survive the current economic challenges.
Ms. Balogun regarded as an advantage the background of the President as a former Accountant with Mobil Oil Producing and other establishments.
She said: “Accountants like President Tinubu are best to lead a country out of a recession. They are visionary, innovative and risk-takers. Although traditionally viewed as professionals who focus on numbers and data, their role is more dynamic. President Tinubu has been trained with the capacity to drive growth and embrace innovation. Their analytical skills as Accountants give them the capacity for data-based decision-making.”
She credited the accounting profession with facilitating the development of trail-blazing IT software currently driving innovations such as the Treasury Single Account (TSA) embraced by the Nigerian government, as well as FinTech and e-commerce platforms.
On the TSA, she said: “The accountants within the public sector put ideas together, and came up with that Treasury Single Account system to help ensure better transparency and accountability in the area of the management of funds within the country, as well as to curb corruption.”
According to her, the nation should not underrate the advantages that accountants and the accounting profession can bring to bear on the nation’s search for socio-economic solutions.
Balogun said: “Accountants have the capacity to drive growth and we are innovative. The analytical skills of accountants that make them excel in analysing data are very crucial in a time of economic uncertainty because we use the data we analyse to back the decisions we make. We have the risk assessment method of finding financial risks, along with different scenarios, to produce healthy outcomes. We have very good capacity in strategic planning.
“We know how to use multiple scenarios and models to differentiate which features will facilitate planning for risk-mitigation. We are very good at problem solving. When you have financial challenges, if you bring an Accountant, they are able to use their skills to basically adapt and find changing landscapes in implementing different corrective measures in terms of the time of economic action.
“In terms of being leaders, we create, we use data, we analyse data, and we are able to use them to bring financial health back to a business, to an organisation or to the country at large.”
Balogun recalled that accountants had been drivers behind the adoption of the Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) that has enhanced transparency and accountability within companies and within the country generally.
“During the privatisation policies of the 1990s and early 2000s, the accountants put together measures to help in ensuring that business outcomes were achieved,” Balogun said.
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