Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), caused a stir on Saturday when he tripped over his foot and stumbled as he made his way to his auditorium seat where the 2021 annual Arewa House Lecture was held.
The event, the 11th edition of the annual Arewa House lecture, held at the Arewa House Banquet Hall, Kaduna.
In a video that circulated on social media, Tinubu crashed between two chairs on arrival at the 11th Arewa House Lecture in Kaduna.
His aides and nearby guests quickly supported him.
After stabilising himself and moving to the podium moments later to deliver his speech, Tinubu said although Nigeria has exited recession, the country’s economy remained weak.
The APC chieftain also warned against wasteful spending amongst government officials, saying the government must spend money to yield economic returns for the benefit of the masses.
He said: “For a nation to know where it is going, it must first know where it is coming from. The topic is more than timely, particularly given the serious security challenges that have become one of the primary causes of despair and frustration among all Nigerians, young and old alike.
“That frustration and despair are, in large part, caused by the chronic poverty and the breakdown of social institutions, wrought by such long-standing suffering. In the midst of our local challenges came the COVID-19 pandemic with its debilitating impact on the global and domestic economies. Nigeria, like many other countries, has not been spared the impact of the pandemic.
“Commendably, however, President Muhammadu Buhari has been carefully steering the country through the pandemic such that the negative impact on us and the economy has not been as harsh as it might have been.
“The economy relapsed though into recession. It has ended but we must admit the economy remains anaemic and weak — too much unemployment, and resources are left idle.
“Cost of governance is always a key factor in socio-economic development of any nation, but it is also one side of that important coin. We must not look at the cost alone; we must weigh the cost against the benefits derived.
“We must be careful in what we say and truly mean when we talk of cost of governance. The development of any populous nation has always been dependent on the ability of government to allocate sufficient funds to projects and programmes that create and encourage enduring growth and employment.
“We must reject that mode of thinking that assumes government expenditure is inherently unproductive as well as harmful to the overall economy.”
Tinubu also extolled the virtues of the country’s independence leaders – Tafawa Bello, Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe – for their efforts in laying the foundation of Nigeria, adding that “it is upon this foundation that we must continue to build”.
