Former Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, has expressed deep concern over the rising poverty levels in Nigeria, stating that many citizens have been reduced to beggars.
Speaking on AIT, Shittu, who served under the Buhari administration, shared distressing experiences of people calling him to request small amounts of money for survival.
According to him, a man called him from Bauchi to beg for N1,000 to feed, adding that another woman called him 30 times to beg for N3,000.
“Yesterday, before I left Ibadan, somebody phoned me from Bauchi and begged me for N1,000. He said he had not eaten for two days. Again, about a week ago, somebody also called me, a woman who wanted N3,000. At the time she wanted that morning, unbelievably, I myself didn’t have that money, and the woman called me 30 times in one day.” he said
He averred that poverty had been weaponized in the country to the extent that when politicians go to the people for votes, they tend to be more interested in what the politicians can give them rather than what they are capable of doing.
‘’It’s not my business to douse the poverty of such people calling. So when you go to such people to ask for their votes or support, they don’t care what you’re capable of doing. What they are interested in is what they can get out of you today.” he said
He stated that he currently doesn’t have money because he didn’t steal while in office. According to him, the post-political appointment life of many government officials can be challenging for those who didn’t steal in office.