Former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, has expressed her disappointment with President Bola Tinubu, describing him as someone who “does not listen to anyone because he believes he knows it all.”
Bucknor-Akerele served as Tinubu’s deputy from 1999 to 2002 during his tenure as governor.
In an interview with Tribune, when asked if President Tinubu would benefit from her advice given the current economic struggles in Nigeria, Bucknor-Akerele responded vehemently, saying, “I don’t think the president would want my advice. I don’t think he is the kind of person that takes to advice. After all, I was his deputy. He seems to have the mindset that he knows it all.”
She went on to express her grim outlook on the nation’s economy, stating, “There is no consolation I can give them because I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. The situation is bad. In fact, it is appalling. People cannot eat. Even I have to watch my finances now because there are so many people that I have to help.”
Describing the current state of affairs as disastrous, she added, “I am sorry to say that I think it has been a disaster. It has been a complete disaster because [Muhammadu] Buhari’s government was bad enough, and one would have expected that Tinubu would have tried to turn things around, but he has not done that. He has been playing to the gallery… spending money on himself and his cronies, instead of actually doing something to better the life of the ordinary man.”
Bucknor-Akerele also critiqued Tinubu’s time as Lagos State governor, arguing that the development in Lagos cannot be attributed to him. “I don’t know what he did in Lagos. Lagos has become a big slum… He says he saved the Bar Beach or Victoria Island from being swallowed by the Atlantic Ocean, but all that he did was to push erosion further down the coast to Alpha Beach.”
Her remarks come amid worsening economic challenges in Nigeria, where rising inflation and the recent fuel price hike have further deepened the hardship faced by citizens.
