Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto,
has asked the federal government to be
considerate of the citizens and do away with
anti-people policies.
President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged
the review anti-people policies Speaking at a
town hall meeting in Abuja on Monday, August 8,
2016, Sultan Abubakar advised the government
that to work with the people adding that where
a policy is seen to be anti-people, it must be
immediately reviewed.
The Sun reports him as saying policies should
be in the interest of the people, noting that if
policies do not work, there was nothing wrong in
reviewing them. The town hall meeting and
policy dialogue was organised by the Alumni
Association of the National Institute of Policy
and Strategic Studies (AANI) in collaboration
with the ministry of Information and National
Orientation.
politicians to be mindful of the fact that they
only hold power in trust for the people and
would one day leave the positions they occupy.
He also reminded the leaders that the primary
objective of government is to ensure security of
lives and property and promote welfare of
citizens. Abubakar said: “Those in authority
should appreciate the fact that they hold power
in trust for the people.
“They should listen and be prepared to make
policy changes that address the welfare of the
common people. “Change has been said to be
constant. Therefore, there is no problem if
government would review policies and
programmes. “If a policy doesn’t work there is
nothing wrong in reviewing them.
“In my view, policies that are anti-people should
be discarded and realigned in line with prevalent
realities. Where Nigeria has critical problem is in
the area of policy implementation. At times,
changes come with difficulties, but it is
important that both the government and the
governed should accept with clean hearts that
after the days of suffering, there would be days
of rejoicing.
“If we get it right in the 2016 budget, every
other thing will fall into place.” He however
commended the President Muhammadu Buhari
administration for making efforts to revive the
economy and pleaded for support from the
people. The presidency seems to also know the
state of the nation as Buhari pleaded with
religious leaders on Thursday, July 28, to preach
message of hope to worshippers across the
country.
