Buhari govt is oppressive – Prof Irefin 

Prof David Irefin of the Federal University of Lokoja, Kogi State, has described the government of President Muhammadu Buhari as oppressive.

He asserted that the government is not people-friendly.

Irefin, who is the Chairman of Christ Universal Missionary Crusade Fellowship with international Headquarters in Cross River State, spoke in an interview with journalists in Calabar on Monday.

Irefin expressed dissatisfaction over the manner the ongoing ASUU strike is being handled by the government.

He decried alleged arrogance and pride of government ministers in Nigeria, saying they ought to be servants of the people.

“This government is oppressive. This is not people’s government. Stolen monies are making people look proud.

“As a minister of the federal republic, you are expected to be a servant, not a boss.

“Go to Britain or Ghana, ministers there are servants. But look at the way the minister of labour in Nigeria, Chris Ngige is behaving.

“If it were in some of these countries, he would have resigned; they would ask him to resign.”

Irefin, who has been Professor of Economics for 35 years, said university teachers have been over oppressed in the country.

He cautioned against incessant borrowings, saying that government technocrats appear not to know from which economic angle they ought to harness.

“If you look at economic theories, there is no macro economist that will advise you to be borrowing continually. No way! We have a model of saving for the rainy day. So in this context you choose between balanced, deficit and surplus budgets.

“It is left for the individual presidents to choose which angle to operate from. Unfortunately, some have little or no idea in this selection process.

“You should not consume beyond what you can pay for. There is no free lunch anywhere. In economics, before you would advise anyone to borrow, it means that the money is going to the productive sector. You can’t say you are borrowing to pay salaries. If you do, how will you generate taxes to pay off the debt?”

He expressed surprise that the government reportedly said they have not yet borrowed enough.