Nigerian Youth Union (NYU), an umbrella body of young people all over Nigeria, wishes to state in unequivocal terms, that it will no longer accept ambiguous foreign trips by the President, governors, Senate President, ministers, or any other public office holder under the guise of private visit.
President Bola Tinubu, just like every other human being, can fall ill and is entitled to medical treatment or checkups.
However, much to the dismay of Nigerians, medical trips by the president, which are funded from public coffers, continue to be shrouded in secrecy giving room for speculations.
Worthy of mention here, is that the respected legal luminary, Femi Falana, has flayed the trip saying there is no provision in the constitution for a private visit by the Nigerian president.
It is disheartening to note that at a time when Nigerians are being hit hard by the rising cost of living; at a time when insecurity is pervasive and Nigerians are being kidnapped in droves, the president embarked on medical tourism cloaked as a private visit.
No doubt, we wish the president well; but also wish to state that we will mobilize and resist within the ambits of the law, any of such cryptic trips in the future.
Public officeholders serve the people and are expected to be discerning; and empathic and conduct themselves in manners reflective of the pulse of the nation.
From the aforementioned, it has become imperative to revamp the nation’s health sector and equip it with requisite facilities and qualified personnel to stem the tide of medical tourism among the elite.
Now that the president is back in the country, he is expected to, as a matter of urgency, introduce measures to address the current hyperinflation and strangulating prices of food stuffs which has triggered a wave of protests across the country.
NYU, unveiled on October 1, 2020, is the voice of Nigerian youths with a vision to offer opportunities that breed inclusiveness in governance; and provide national information that is of interest to the young people in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
NYU’s goal is to create synergy between the Nigerian Government and the youths to encourage the participation of young Nigerians in governance, which in turn fosters national growth and economic development.
Signed: Comrade Chinonso Obasi,
National President, Nigerian Youth Union(NYU).
February 7, 2024.