Former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, recently shared his personal struggles amid Nigeria economic challenges, stating that he relies on the earnings of his children to support himself.
In an interview with AIT News from 1:10, Shittu revealed how dire the economic situation has become for many Nigerians, including himself.
He lamented that as a former minister, once out of office, he no longer receives any salary unless he had been involved in corruption.
Shittu shared that he relies on the financial support of his 10 children, all of whom are graduates, to help take care of his living expenses. This, he said, is how he copes with the financial strain caused by the country’s current economic conditions.
His words: “The reality is that when you leave the office of a minister, you don’t continue to get paid unless you’ve stolen while in office. It becomes very challenging. I thank God I have about 10 children who are already graduates, and it’s their resources—what they earn monthly—that I use to take care of myself.”
He also recounted an encounter with a woman who called him 30 times in one day asking for 3,000 Naira.
“You can imagine, yesterday before I left home, someone approached me asking for 1,000 Naira. They told me they hadn’t eaten in two days. Then, about a week ago, a woman called me and asked for 3,000 Naira,” Shittu recalled.
Despite his desire to help, he explained that he didn’t have the money to give at the time.
Shittu also discussed the broader issue of poverty in Nigeria, stating that people who ask for help often do not care about what someone is capable of doing for them. Instead, they are focused on getting immediate assistance.
He referred to this as the “weaponization of poverty,” explaining that people in desperate situations often don’t question others’ circumstances.
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