Bayo Onanuga, managing director (MD) of the News Agency of Nigeria, stirred a controversy Tuesday with his comment on the hardship in the land.
The former MD of The News took to his Facebook page to say an “objective check” would reveal that supposed harsh economic reality under President Muhammadu Buhari was being blown out of proportion.
He narrated how his daughter, who flew a Virgin Atlantic flight from Lagos to London, found many Nigerians on board amid the “seeming” economic crisis.
His status update has been eliciting caustic reactions on social media, particularly on Facebook.
Advertisement
“My daughter was on the Virgin Atlantic flight that took off from Lagos to London today. I asked her to find out whether the plane was filled up or going to London near empty judging by the noisy campaign from a section of the country about the ‘hardship’ in our country,” he wrote.
“My daughter sent back this one-line text, after boarding: “Daddy, the flight was filled up o.
“This makes me to wonder whether all the seeming orchestrated campaign in the media was not mere propaganda to make the Buhari regime look really bad.
Advertisement
“I was in Bauchi and Jos at the weekend, I also found that food was cheap everywhere. In our hotel, we paid about N700 for a plate of semovita, or eba with a choice of cat fish or chicken.
“On the roadside, I found to my surprise that with just N1000, I bought over 50 oranges, two giant water melon and 10 pieces of sweet potato. I had experienced a similar thing in the market at Abuja, where I found that with N1,400, I could make a big vegetable soup, with tomato, pepper and roasted Titus fish.
“Are the media and bloggers really painting a correct image of our country. It’s time for the media to objectively conducted a reality check about our reports, whether we are not over sensationalising so-called hardship that we talked about.”
Advertisement
13 comments
May be efcc should trace your source of income, why would a plate of FOOD cost 700? Or won’t you eat it just once?
You must be hallucinating or you are pure evil or indeed you have no conscience to make such a statement. Your utterances are quite unfortunate.
This man must have been pretending to be on the side of the masses while at The News. He is just showing his true color now that he has been settled. People like him will do worse things to oppress the common man if he gets more power than he presently has.
You are very correct!_Only yesterday I was driving through some streets in Warri with my wife and she drew my attention to some big housing projects going on; she remarked that even in the face of the so-called economic hardship these are going on,flashy cars everywhere? There are no signs of economic hardship!
I think what is going on is that Nigerians are learning how to shed their extravagant behaviors,which is good. We had been very wasteful in the past:we spent where it was not necessary!
Your comment To be frank there is hardship in the town, how many ordinary Nigerian can afford 1k now.It is the position that this NAN MD is that is Why is talking like that. There is serious hardship and people are dying of hunger every blessed day.
Your comment.. You people should stop commenting on what is not palatable for the Nigerian masses. Hardship is not a friend to any human, I don’t pray that you witnessed it bcoz people that are experiencing it now knows what it means to be in hardship. Many Nigerians now couldn’t afford a meal out of three meals in a day and you are saying there is no hardship stop commenting on what ordinary Nigerian will be cursing on.
Your comment..The hardship is not so much as people excegerate the whole situation. In Bauchi as an example, a plate of food is hundred Naira # 100= with a meat, # 150=. Our extravagant spending is in control now, that cause the noise making of hardship in the country. But the hardship is not up that stage.
The man is simply expressing his own opinion and I feel he is free to do so. According to what he said (his daughter boarded a plane to London) how many Nigerians from the village can afford a bicycle? The flight ticket money alone is enough for a village woman to start business, pay her children school fees and live a good life. His opinion is targeted at a class of people not every Nigerian I think. I am working but I still find it difficult to pay my children school fees talk more of sending them to London. Nigerians generally look at life in Lagos and Abuja and assume that the whole country is same and that’s why govt. projects are targeted in Lagos and Abuja because his class of persons live there. Come to interior villages and see what’s happening. Hardship has been there all the time but people are worried about the way prices of things are changing everyday including school fees. People are just wicked, this time that there’s no money is the time owners of school are increasing school fees and so on, what a wicked world.
I don’t blame u bcoz u have enough for urself but what about others even when u see d hand writing on the wall.
plssssss Mr man, it’s an offense to say this becoz u intentionally refuses to go out n see the people u’re representing
He wanted to see only his daughter in the flight, meaning that he is God and her daughter the only child of God. If Nigeria is good a good standard to him,the daughter won’t be going to London for anything. He can’t be God and God will never restrain others from traveling overseas
to you we all Nigerians shop the same place but do not have the same source of income.1400niaria is too much cash to million of Nigerians while is nothing to you ,even your daughter fliging vigin Nigeria is nothing to you because you are connected to the nigerian resources,you are MD of a nigerian instution where you have nothing to show for all th allocations given to you.
This instutions are the once to be probed not individuals .
Your comment..You dont know what it really means to be poor.most Nigerians are poor.I dont blame you because the source of wealth is questionable.
You are on point bro!