It took 50 years for India to develop, Let us have patience – Presidential aide, Aliyu Audu urges Nigerians

Aliyu Audu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, has called on Nigerians to exercise patience and embrace a shared sense of responsibility as the nation pursues long-term economic transformation.

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Beam on Monday, June 2, Audu stressed that sustainable development demands time, vision, and unity, drawing on global examples to reinforce his plea for national resolve.

“There are certain processes in terms of nation-building, moving from underdevelopment to being developed. We have examples across the world.

“it took an average of 35 years for Singapore, 50 years for India, and a couple of others. But we are Nigerians, we are different. It doesn’t have to take that long,” he stated.

Audu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), acknowledged Nigeria’s intricate political history, including the deficiencies of past administrations, while advocating for a unified vision for the future.

“We’ve been in power for 10 years, and the PDP did a very bad job in their 16 years, but it’s our collective past. We have to own it,” he remarked.

“Every single party and leader that has led this country, however well you want to rate their performance, we’re still together. We’re building nationhood.”

Addressing the pressing issues of inflation and the rising cost of living, Audu clarified that the problem extends beyond market prices and is intrinsically linked to citizens’ purchasing power.

“If purchasing power increases, life gets better. If jobs are created, life gets better,” he affirmed.

Regarding the fight against corruption, he asserted that eradicating graft is fundamental to unlocking national prosperity.

“If we are able to remove corruption from our identity, we’ll have more money available for job creation,” he said.

“We need to make it a deliberate thing to shame corruption.”

He further elucidated the importance of economic liquidity, pointing out that wealth stagnating in the hands of corrupt individuals hinders growth.

“Money is just a medium of exchange. A million naira sitting in one place is not the same as a million naira that has exchanged 10 hands,” Audu observed.

He criticized the long-standing practice of wealth hoarding by corrupt elites, contending that such behavior impedes economic circulation and development.