Ezekwesili Labels Fuel Subsidy Removal ‘Good Reform Done the Wrong Way, With Arrogance’

Former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has called on Nigerian lawyers to stop trading their profession to politicians who are poised to destroy the country’s future.

Speaking on Monday at the panel discussion at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national conference in Enugu, Ezekwesili lamented the state of the economy and the suffering of Nigerians, particularly the poor.

“The idea that politics is the pathway to becoming wealthy is an anomaly,” Ezekwesili said. “Any profession that is rewarding this kind of pre-examined behaviour cannot be a profession that cares about tomorrow.”

Ezekwesili, a former World Bank director, criticised the government’s handling of economic reforms, saying that good reforms were poorly done due to the government’s arrogance and refusal to listen to advice.

She cited the example of the fuel subsidy removal, which she said was a good reform done in the wrong way, leading to inflation and suffering for the poor.

“What normally happens is that you would make sure that you have prepared for that reform. That reform was not prepared for,” she said, describing it as a “good reform done in the wrong way.”

Ezekwesili emphasised that the poor are bearing the brunt of the economic instability.

“For the poor, the worst thing you can do to them is inflation. They have no buffer, the poor don’t have a buffer, but lawyers do,” she said.

According to Ezekwesili, over 133 million Nigerians are living in poverty due to the government’s failure to reward hard work and its poor handling of economic reforms.

“The truth is, the people of this country, the larger population of this country, are almost trapped in intractable poverty. Some 133 million are permissively in that state of poverty,” he said.

She urged lawyers to take responsibility for providing necessary guardrails for the behaviour of the political class.