Nigerians’ best option now to deal with hardships wrought by the previous regime of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari and worsened by the policy of the incumbent, Bola Tinubu, is to live through the pain, says a Muslim group.

The Muslim Rights Concern, a staunch supporter of Mr Tinubu, said it would be unwise for the impoverished and hapless masses to go on protest.

In a statement on Friday, MURIC executive director Ishaq Akintola told Nigerians to remain patient amid worsening food inflation and prohibitive petrol pump price.

“Therefore, endurance is our best option now, not demonstrations or willful destruction of public properties, looting of shops and businesses belonging to innocent Nigerians,” said the MURIC leader.

Mr Akintola appealed to Nigerians to rally behind Mr Tinubu’s government.

“We have seen the concrete and pragmatic steps which he has taken as he squarely confronts Nigeria’s economic woes,” added the Islamic leader. “Comments made by experts since the beginning of this administration prove that the man in the driving seat knows his onions and he is well prepared for the job of turning our economy round.”

He insisted that “all we need to do now is to endure, to have faith in the leadership and to patiently forbear for Nigeria.”

Mr Akintola reasoned that Nigerians would reap the long-term gains of the harsh removal of the petrol subsidy without Mr Tinubu providing immediate palliatives to cushion its adverse effects.

“It has necessitated the determination of prices of petroleum products by global market forces. This implies that even the Nigerian government can no longer fix the prices of petroleum products, and it was not responsible for the latest increase from N488 to N617,” the Islamic scholar explained.

Mr Akintola stressed his point, noting that the “good news is that we have a sensitive administration which has shown concern for the plight of the common man.”

“Palliatives are, therefore, being prepared to ease the pain without which there can be no gain. We, therefore, appeal to Nigerians to patiently wait for the palliatives,” the MURIC leader explained. “This hard time is the test of our faith, our patriotism and our resolve to re-engineer our destiny as a people.”

(NAN)