Former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to Brazil, describing it as a waste of scarce resources.
According to him, the difference between Nigeria and Brazil lies in leadership, not sightseeing trips.
In a statement issued in Abuja at the weekend, Adebayo faulted the rationale behind the visit, saying what the President went to learn in Brazil was already captured in the SDP manifesto.
“He could have spoken to me. He could have looked at the Social Democratic Party’s manifesto. He used to be a member of the SDP in the good old days,” Adebayo said.
He likened Tinubu’s trip to a biblical transformation.
“The President’s visit is the equivalent of Saul becoming Paul, because what Brazil has which Nigeria doesn’t have is good leadership,” the SDP chieftain said.
The SDP chieftain pointed to Brazil’s anti-poverty programme under former President Lula da Silva as an example of what effective policies can achieve.
“What they have is a poverty reduction manifesto and set of programmes and policies. If you look at the Bolsa Familia, which reduced poverty by 27 percent in Brazil in four years, it is the opposite of ‘subsidy is gone’ that increased poverty exponentially in Nigeria,” he said.
He also drew a sharp contrast between the management of Petrobras in Brazil and Nigeria’s NNPC Limited.
“If you look at the way Petrobras is run compared to the way President Tinubu has been running the NNPC, they are polar opposites. So, the economic policy of President Tinubu is opposite the one that has succeeded in Brazil,” Adebayo stated.
Adebayo insisted that Nigeria did not need foreign trips to find solutions to its economic woes.
“Why are you leaving the Brazilian type of manifesto which is available in Nigeria and then you are going to Brazil as a tourist to be in awe of the majesty of Brazil and the Brazilian economy as if it is by magic? It is by policy,” he declared.
While noting that the trip might help Tinubu see the flaws in his own policies, Adebayo maintained that the huge cost of the visit was unjustifiable.
