Veteran Nollywood actor, Jide Kosoko, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying things are not as bad as some Nigerians claim.
He questioned what those complaining of hunger were eating before Tinubu assumed office.
Kosoko spoke in an interview on the Talktobpodcast hosted by Biola Adebayo and published on Saturday.
Reacting to public complaints over the cost of food, the actor asked people to compare their present condition with their past.
“When you see people saying, ‘I am hungry, I am hungry,’ go and check the majority of those people saying that before Tinubu came. What were they doing? What were they eating? Every year, things change,” he said.
Kosoko insisted that the situation was not as bad as it had been painted.
“Things are not as bad as some people made us understand,” he said.
He said Nigerians were making money in different ways, adding that those who had not yet succeeded would have their time.
“People make money here and there. Some people might still be unlucky, but that is not to say their own time will not come,” he said.
The actor, however, admitted that many citizens were in pain.
“I’m not saying things are rosy,” he said.
Kosoko appealed to Nigerians to give the President more time to complete what he started.
“Let’s try and allow Mr President and his team to finish what they started,” he said.
He also defended the removal of the fuel subsidy, likening it to money borrowed without a plan for repayment.
“That’s the subsidy. The money being used to take care of you and me that we consider that subsidy is something that is putting us in problems for tomorrow,” he said.
The actor said the savings Nigerians would have made had the subsidy remained could have gone into necessities like school fees. He added that the student loan scheme had taken over some of the responsibilities of parents.
Kosoko also advised Nigerians on food, saying a good meal did not have to be costly.
“If you eat once a day and good food, you are good to go,” he said.
He said Nigerians should also look inward, blaming traders and sellers who raise prices when others do.
“We are enemies of ourselves because when they continue to say, ‘Ah, the price is up,’ then who is hiking it? Who is putting it up? Is it not ourselves?” he asked.
He further said, “Destructive protest is not welcome,” though he added that criticism was necessary so that the government would know where the pain was being felt.
The actor said he had no plan to leave the country.
“Even if I am able to japa, don’t I have families, relatives still at home?” he said.
Kosoko urged Nigerians to stop speaking ill of the country.
“Nigeria is a great country,” he said.