Aare Afe Babalola, the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), has criticized the Federal Government’s approach to distributing palliatives, describing it as a strategy that reduces Nigerians to beggars and deepens poverty.
Babalola expressed these views during a visit from the Prestige Sisters League at the ABUAD campus.
Speaking on the recent nationwide protests against hunger, Babalola affirmed the sincerity of those participating, emphasizing the widespread food insecurity in the country.
“Those who are complaining about hunger are doing so sincerely. They are hungry. A hungry man can go to any length to show his anger,” Babalola said.
He urged the government to heed the protests, noting that the state of hunger in Nigeria is undeniable.
Babalola attributed the country’s food crisis to the government’s failure to ensure security, particularly for farmers who have abandoned their lands due to violence.
“The duty of government is the welfare of the people. The problem we have now is that people cannot move freely. They have abandoned the farms. People are being killed in their farms and everybody wants to stay where they are safe. It is because the government has failed in this regard that we have hunger,” he remarked.
Criticizing the government’s palliative measures, Babalola argued that distributing food items like garri, beans, and rice discourages self-sufficiency and fosters dependency.
“It is wrong for the government to be sharing garri, beans, and rice as palliatives. They are turning the people into beggars. The government that is giving the people rice and beans is leading us to poverty,” he said, urging instead for the creation of an environment that enables citizens to work and sustain themselves.
Babalola also voiced his support for the call by the Patriots for a new constitution but argued against the need for a constitutional conference. Instead, he advocated for the reenactment of the 1963 constitution by the current parliament.
“I read the publication of the Patriots visiting President Tinubu and I am in full agreement with them. We need a new constitution. But I do not agree that we should go through any constitutional conference,” Babalola stated.
He further referenced a recent move by President Bola Tinubu to reinstate Nigeria’s old National Anthem without the need for a conference, suggesting that the 1963 constitution, which he described as a product of collective effort, could be similarly reinstated by the National Assembly.
“The 1963 constitution was the one made by all of us. By the same token, the parliament should bring back the 1963 and reenact it,” Babalola concluded.