The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria has condemned the comparison between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia made by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ) , in his Independence Day address .
The President , TUC , Quadri Olaleye , in a statement on Thursday , said the comparison was unnecessary as Nigeria was not at par in all ramifications with Saudi Arabia and other countries mentioned .
He said the country had achieved nothing despite six decades of oil exploration , adding that the government was paying lip service to infrastructure development .
He said successive governments had looted , laundered and wasted the country’ s resources while patronising hospitals outside the country .
Olaleye said , “ It is like comparing black and white . It is that bad !
“ It is ridiculous to compare Nigeria with Saudi, Dubai , or any other country , not even in Africa . With the natural resources that we have , we could rule the world , but government is not interested . There is no need for this comparison because it looks like the president is defending fraud and the impoverishment of Nigerians.
“ Come to think of it , what has Nigeria achieved with all the money made from oil since over six decades of oil exploration in commercial quality ? Nothing . Absolutely nothing . All successive leaderships have done is loot , launder and buy properties in foreign land .
“ So, if the president is defending the hike ( in pump price ) , what does he want to do with the surplus they will make from the hike ? The same old story of providing infrastructure ! Our roads are nothing but death traps . Our leaders are not patriotic at all . ”
He argued that in Saudi Arabia , roads , water, and to some extent, jobs were not big issues .
“ On the other hand , Nigerians contend with estimated bills because power firms had refused to provide meters , ” Olaleye added .
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