Abuja residents task leaders on sacrifices

Leaders across board need to make the required sacrifices to ignite the desired change in Nigeria, some Abuja residents have suggested.

The residents told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Abuja that contrary to expectations, the masses were often the ones making sacrifices for the country.

Mrs Eunice Odafe, a banker, told NAN that most leaders only paid lip service to the plight of the common man and the quest for the development of the country.

“Leaders who want to make sacrifices would have volunteered to reduce their salaries and allowances now that the country is in recession.

“If they were serious and genuine about making sacrifices, they would have looked inward at costs, such as the cost of governance which is the highest in the world when compared to developed countries,” she said.

Odafe, therefore, advised Nigerian leaders to focus on favourable policies instead of the incessant internal squabbles at various levels of government.

Also commenting, Mrs Beatrice Okafor, a public servant, said both leaders and citizens needed to make sacrifices for the good of the country.

“Our leaders are not making sacrifices to bring this country out of its present state. They keep saying there must be pain before the gains come.

“The question to ask is who must go through this pain and who suffers everything? The answer is the people.

“Now the price of cooking gas is N5,500; kerosene is N350. We cannot afford it but they can afford it. So what are we talking about?”

For Mr Ahmed Idris, a civil servant, the leaders needed to prove to Nigerians that they were ready to make sacrifices to trigger the desired change by cutting back on the cost of governance and their own personal expenses. (NAN)