By Joshua Odeyemi

Wife of the Senate President, Mrs Toyin Saraki has warned that many of those seeking power at this year’s general elections had failed Nigeria in their respective capacity.

She made this claim while delivering her speech at the 2018 edition of Daily Trust African of the Year award in Abuja on Wednesday.

“Many of those power-seekers have failed Nigerian,” she said. “Since 2015. 9.9 million Nigerians have lost their jobs. 2 million have been affected by Boko Haram and Herdsmen crisis, making us the most terrorised country in the world.

“We now have the highest number of road fatalities in Africa and the poverty capital of the world.

“On our current path, by 2021, we will overtake India as the world capital for infant deaths. Meanwhile, our electricity supply is the second worst in the world- only Yemen is worse.

“And what of the future? 13.5 million Nigerian school children are currently out of school, as investors flee Nigeria, taking $2 billion with them.

“Our debt has grown by $11.47 billion over the past three years. What a legacy for our children to inherit. It is a legacy we must all work to change.”

Mrs Saraki, who was the Chairperson of the occasion, congratulated the winners of the 2018 edition of the award- a team of five Kenyan girls, saying the girls had sought to rebalance power structures for the good of citizens.

“They have bravely put agency in the hands of women and girls, restoring not only hope but establishing a concrete link to medical and legal assistance,” she said.

She therefore urged all Nigerians to work together for a healthier, safer and freer Nigeria.