Aare Afe Babalola, founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), has sharply criticized the Federal Government’s distribution of palliatives, asserting that the approach is reducing Nigerians to beggars and pushing them deeper into poverty.
Babalola voiced his concerns during a visit from the Prestige Sisters League at the ABUAD campus, where he also expressed support for the Patriots’ call for a new constitution.
Addressing the recent protests sparked by widespread hunger across the nation, Babalola acknowledged the legitimacy of the public outcry. “Those who are protesting against hunger are doing so sincerely. They are hungry. A hungry man can go to any length to show his anger. The protest was genuine, and the government should listen to them,” he stated.
He further criticized the government’s role in exacerbating the nation’s food crisis, citing insecurity as a major factor. “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,” Babalola explained.
Babalola condemned the practice of distributing basic foodstuffs like garri, beans, and rice as palliatives, arguing that it discourages self-reliance and perpetuates poverty. “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. The government is discouraging people from working, whereas, the government must provide the people with an enabling environment to work and feed themselves,” he emphasized.
On the issue of constitutional reform, Babalola backed the Patriots’ recent call for a new constitution but argued against convening a new constitutional conference. Instead, he proposed the reenactment of the 1963 constitution by the National Assembly.
“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. Recently, President Bola Tinubu asked us to go back to the old National Anthem; there was no conference for it before it was passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President. The 1963 constitution was the one made by all of us. By the same token, the parliament should bring back the 1963 constitution and reenact it,” Babalola concluded.
