By Dipo Olowookere
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the wanton destruction of properties in some parts of the country by hoodlums last week was capable of scaring investors away from Nigeria.
Mr Buhari expressed this fear when he held a crucial meeting with all living former heads of state last Friday, a day after he addressed the nation two days after some soldiers opened fire on peaceful protesters in Lekki, Lagos.
Some youths in the country had expressed their grievances over police brutality through a nationwide protest tagged #EndSARS but it was hijacked nearly two weeks into it, leading to the alleged invasion of two prisons in Edo State and burning of cars in Abuja.
The shooting of protesters in Lagos attracted international condemnation and to curtail the outrage that followed, especially the burning of some businesses and government properties, various state governments imposed a dusk to dawn curfew.
Spokesman of the President, Mr Femi Adesina, in his weekly post on Friday, said Mr Buhari was not happy with the actions of the thugs, especially at a time the nation was making efforts to attract foreign investments through various policies put in place by his administration.
“If you burn factories, release prisoners, then it is anti-investment. We need to behave ourselves,” Mr Adesina quoted the President as saying, adding that Mr Buhari opined that investors would need stability.
The President’s mouthpiece also said former President Olusegun Obasanjo expressed his concern over the damage the security situation in the country can do to foreign direct investments.
“We need heavy local and international investments to make the impact we need to make. Our Foreign Direct Investment is inadequate. And we need to get better results in security, so that the investments can come,” Mr Obasanjo, who Mr Adesina said is known for “his antagonism to the government of the day,” submitted.
However, he said the former military head of state commended Mr Buhari for some points he made during his national broadcast last Thursday.
“You made points that I believe need to be commended. You said peaceful protests were part of democratic practice. You also indicated that the demands of the genuine protesters had been accepted, and you were working on implementation,” the Ota, Ogun State farmer was quoted as saying, though he pointed out that the interventions of the present government to improve the job and economic situations in the country were not far-reaching enough for a population of 200 million people.
Adedapo Adesanya