Lagos — The article 'Nigeria Confronts Its Worst Economic Crisis in a Generation' as published by the New York Times failed to explain the origin and efforts being made by the present administration to arrest the situation. It's replete with negatives, and without even a scant mention of the successes from the present administration.
The paper's position appeared as if the current administration caused the economic challenges, and or is doing nothing about it. But in any case the report fits into the tradition of foreign media reportage on Nigeria, nay Africa. Bad news sells copies!
To start with, when President Bola Tinubu came to power on May 29, 2023, he was confronted with very bad choices. There was no functional refinery. All refined petroleum products were imported as years of embarking on turnaround maintenance of the previous governments failed.
While the country was importing fuel, price volatility posed a big challenge. A rise in the dollar meant an increase in the price of fuel back home. Yet with low income, Nigerians would be expected to cough out more to buy petrol. Herein comes the subsidy, to bridge the gap so that the price of petroleum products could be available and affordable.
Unfortunately, that came with its attendant problems: over invoicing with fraudulent officials who connived with importers to defraud the government. If the fraudulent practice was allowed to stay, it meant only a handful of Nigeria would continue to benefit. In order to stop the bleeding and ensure that the masses feel the impact of the government, the Bola Tinubu government took the path of courage and removed the subsidy.
Also, it embarked on a policy drive to clean up the multiple foreign exchange regime of the previous administration where an estimated $1.5 billion monthly was used to 'defend' the naira. The government took another bold step and floated the naira.
The government did so with the full knowledge that the citizens would face some initial hardship, but with time, the country would turn the table.
And rightly so, efforts are being made to cushion the biting effects. For instance, the government announced a N75 billion palliative package to strengthen the manufacturing sector and increase its capacity to expand and create good-paying jobs. Seventy-five firms will receive one billion naira repayable short and long-term loans.
It quickly moved to empower micro, small and medium scale enterprises and the informal sector as the growth drivers with N125 billion. That is N50 billion on Conditional Grant to one million nano businesses while N75 billion goes to MSMEs and start-ups.
The administration also earmarked N200 billion to support the cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice. Food production would lead to reduction in food inflation and bring down prices.
The government immediately planned to invest N100 billion to acquire 3,000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses to bring down high fares.
Also, the government provided an additional N35,000 to the "average worker's" salary for six months. Besides, the president approved N25,000 as a new social safety net policy that will cover about 15 million Nigerians.It also extended the palliative measures to the states with the 36 states getting N185 billion palliative loan for distribution at the state and local government levels.
With the removal of subsidy, N1 trillion was saved between June and July 2023, which the government is reinvesting in the education sectors, and partly as loans. Such savings from subsidies have continued.
The government is not resting on its oars, and has not failed to acknowledge the patience of Nigerians as they face the fallout of these policy initiatives.
Rather, it has tried to reward this patience with concerted efforts to cushion the policy impacts. That's why the government unleashed 21 major policy blitz a few weeks ago to not only cushion the effects of these policy changes but provide lasting solutions to them.
The president has said there will be no exemption in certain taxes for him and his Vice, Kashim Shettima, like paying access toll and parking levies at the nation's airports. The government's target is to raise N10bn from the airport tolls annually, which would be ploughed back into the economy.
With fresh investment in infrastructure such as the approved N2trn mortgage initiative, N51bn transport terminal hub in Abuja, jobs would be created and the economy is expected to expand. At the state level, the government has earmarked N546bn for roads in Lagos, Kwara, Edo, Kebbi and Sokoto while N72bn has been approved for the construction of a new transmission line, all to increase power output and enhance productivity.
These are lofty initiatives. These are not only immediate solutions or quick fixes, but long term targets having realised the difficulties it inherited.
The problems are deeply rooted but the administration has not wasted time passing the buck, rather it has adopted measures to fix them. And some of these measures would take time to bear fruits, while others are already bearing fruits.
Isuma Mark, Abuja
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PUBLIC SPACE AND DEMOCRACY
Public space allows everyone to say their mind without fear of intimidation, argues Wale Ajao
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Public space can be defined as any medium or avenue made available for citizens to express views on the public affairs of a society. Such a medium could be above the line channel or below the line or on - line channel. Among above the line channels are magazines, newspapers and electronic channels like radio and television. One major characteristic of above the line channels is that vast or mass audience can be reached at a time. For example Tokyo Daily in Japan or Washington post in America can circulate up to five million copies daily. Below the line channels include leaflets , posters and interpersonal communication channels such as letters or intra organization communication channels like house journal or newsletter and other new media avenues like a Whatsapp group where up to two hundred members of the platform can exchange ideas by chatting up one another. On - line channels are usually new media avenues like e-mail Facebook, X and Whatsapp. On- line channels can disseminate information faster than traditional media like newspapers and magazines . New media can also reach vast majority of communication consumers more than newspapers and magazines. But electronic channels can reach the audience faster than any new media channel. The common characteristic of any public space channel is that it is an avenue for exchange of ideas. In effect in the public space there is bound to be advertisement and divertissement of ideas. This is so because in the public space it is ideas and opinions that are in competition not the owners of the ideas or opinions. It is views that are competing for attention in the public space. It is clear therefore that in a democracy the public space is open to all the stakeholders to express their views. In popular language the right of a stakeholder to express his or her opinion is what is described as the fundamental human right of a citizen to express his opinion on any issue of public interest. This means that each citizen has equal right of access to the public space like any other citizen. No citizen has a right to inhibit other citizen to express his opinion. Therefore the first thing all users of the public space must accept is that each citizen has equal access or equal right to the public space whatever their opinion. In effect it is clear all users of the public space cannot have the same opinion on any issue. Therefore the first condition for proper use of the public space is that all users of the public space must allow others to express their views without bully or harassment or intimidation. In a democracy the right of everyone to express his opinion is known as the poetic license of a citizen which is also the natural right or the fundamental human right of a citizen. One major demand which the public space makes on all it's users is what is known as the right of reply. Just every citizen has a right to express his opinion it is the right of everyone to reply to whatever has been put on the public space which they disagree with.
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One very clear role of the public space is that it gives everyone the right to react to whatever they disagree with. This means for example if Mr Julius Akpojiovi is fond of writing only negative things about Nigeria other users of the public space should form the habit of responding by publishing their reply and they should always mention what is good about Nigeria. That is how to use the public space. Whenever someone expresses an opinion that is not acceptable to others those who disagree have the right of reply which is the poetic license or the fundamental human right of all users of the public space . It becomes clear at this point that democracy thrives on differences of opinions because it has provided for right of expression and right of reply. So if Mr Julius Akpojiovi cannot but publish negative things about Tinubu or APC or Nigeria those who disagree with him should always exercise their right of reply by stating all the good things they know about Tinubu or APC or Nigeria. It is as simple as that. In a democracy no one should abuse another person just because of difference of opinion. Moreso on a platform of school mates or former work mates that for decades have never had any disagreement among each other. Moreso among old school mates who are not full time or part time politicians. Those opposing the style of Julius Akpojiovi have no right to abuse or fight him for his always negative views about Tinubu or APC or Nigeria just as Julius Akpojiovi has no right to abuse or fight those who see nothing wrong in APC or Tinubu or Nigeria. This is so because those who believe everything about Nigeria and APC and Tinubu are entitled to their opinion just as those who think that everything about Nigeria or APC or Tinubu is negative are also entitled to their opinion. The public space can accommodate all of them because it has provided freedom of speech or freedom of expression as well the right of reply. It is an abuse of the public space to abuse or attack someone just because of his or her opinion. All a good user of public space has to do is to exercise his right of reply whenever and wherever necessary.
When stakeholders refuse to abide by the freedom of speech or expression and right of reply they endanger democracy by unwittingly resorting to gagging the press or polluting the public space. When people are threatened or attacked just because of their opinion the society looses because it is when two opposing camps engage in debate that stakeholders have a deeper understanding of the issues at hand.
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One common manifestation of abuse of public space is to resist or be openly intolerant of dissenting opinion. Critics of government are often regarded as enemies of government just because they have criticized government. Supporters of government often say that those who criticize government should come out with alternative views or suggestions for government to consider. But the rules of the public space does not include making suggestions to government. In other words a critique who does not have suggestions for government has not violated the rules of the public space just because he has not made suggestions to government. In fact his duty is not to make suggestions
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·His duty is to criticize. If someone has made destructive criticism those media officers of the government or those who are supporting government have to exercise their right of reply and disprove all the facts in the destructive criticism. No more no less.
··One beauty of democracy is that traditional media law has ways of dealing with mischief makers who deliberately publish falsehood or propaganda or blackmail against government or fellow citizens. There is the law of libel and law of defamation which make it possible for the law to give punishment to a medium which publishes libelous information. The fact that new media has been making it difficult to punish those who publish falsehood is the reason government all over the world are calling for new laws to regulate new media like Facebook, X, WhatsApp, etc. Under the new media so many things can be thrown into the public space by anonymous authors. In fact new media has turned everyone to a photo journalist because everyone can snap a photo and throw it on WhatsApp for further circulation.This is not possible under the traditional media because not everyone is trained as a photo journalist and a newspaper editor will not accept many of the photos we see on WhatsApp for publication because they are not ethical and are injurious to society and the public space.
·Similarly most of the self edited articles people throw into WhatsApp platforms will not and cannot be published in a serious newspaper or magazine. In effect the new media are potentially capable of abusing the public space because they contain abuse of people with dissenting opinion or they contain falsehood or deliberate distortion of facts and figures. In Europe and America more and more people are calling on government to look for ways of streamlining use of new media. In fact in China and some Asian countries new media like Facebook WhatsApp, X and others have not been licenced to operate. One other common source of abuse of public space is when someone who did not study political science or history in a university and has never practiced politics insists that everyone on a platform must accept his view as the authority on the issue at hand .
Such persons often easily degenerate to abuse of people with dissenting opinion. In conclusion the most important role of the public space is that in a democracy it allows everyone to say their mind without fear of intimidation. The public space provides for freedom of expression and right of reply both of which make abuse or attack on one another unnecessary. This is moreso because the law also have means of giving appropriate punishment to those who publish libel or defamation. One hopes that those who will benefit from this article will henceforth keep in mind the rules of the public space which gives equal right to all users of the public space.
