Nollywood actress Mercy Aigbe says life has become “terrible” and “unbearable” for Nigerians under Bola Tinubu’s administration, calling on the president’s son, Seyi Tinubu, to plead with his father to “do something” to alleviate the struggles of the masses.
Aigbe’s post was seen as a response to Seyi’s earlier plea for Nigerians to endure the current economic hardship under his father’s leadership as a necessary sacrifice for a bright future.
The actress, on her Instagram account on Monday afternoon, stated that many citizens were “going out of their minds” due to their inability to cope with the present-day economy where prices of foodstuff and other basic commodities have soared above 200 per cent.
“People are hungry! People are dying! People are going out of their minds!” Ms Aigbe exclaimed, posting a video of Nigerians struggling to receive 5KG bags of rice from a charity foundation.
“The present situation of the country is terrible,” the actress stressed. “The government should please, please, we are begging, they should do something about this economic hardship.”
Aigbe tagged Tinubu’s son on her post, asking him to “please, beg your father for us,” adding that “enough is enough.”
Angry Nigerians on Monday took to the streets of Ibadan in Oyo state to protest the raging hardship. They labelled Mr Tinubu a “thief” who had no clue how to run his administration to better the lives of citizens.
The protest comes days after market findings by Peoples Gazette revealed that a pack of spaghetti that was formerly N80 is now N950; one carton of Titus fish which used to be N40,000, is now N76,000; one medium size of Blue Band butter that was N500, is now N1,400; the price of 50kg bag of rice has risen to N77,000 from N35,000, while a 100kg bag of dry white old maize that used to be N18,000 is now sold for N58,000.
Still, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said Mr Tinubu was not to blame, claiming that former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Central Bank governor Godwin Emefiele were the ones at fault for creating weak policies that left the nation’s economy in shambles.
Mr Akpabio said Mr Tinubu needed more time to undo the havoc wreaked by Messrs Buhari and Emefiele, dissociating himself from the duo even though he served as the Minister of Niger Delta affairs under the former president.