Jos, Plateau State — President Bola Tinubu seems to have taken a courageous path that many of his predecessors feared to take. But how he manages the challenges he meets along the path will either make or mar his administration, writes Seriki Adinoyi
Everyone waited with so much anticipation. It's been three days, lives had been lost and properties destroyed but the protesters won't relent; they were hungry and angry, they wanted to hear the President talk to them.
That was the picture of the recent
#EndBadGovernance# protest in Nigeria when it entered day-three. It was supposed to be peaceful protest but was soon hijacked by thugs in Kano and some other Northern states. The protesters went wild, destroyed and looted shops and government properties, they flagged Russian flags in Kano in fierce confrontation against the nation, they clashed with security personnel and expectedly several persons died.
"For how long shall this continue before the President will talk to us", the people queried. Then, a tentative relief came when the President's spokesman announced in a statement that the President was going to speak to the nation in a broadcast the following morning.
Nigerians waited with bated breath; some with high hopes and others with anger and despair. They were already glued to their televisions and radios before 7am time of the broadcast on Sunday morning. Many refused to go to church; they needed to hear him speak to their agitation and give direction out of the deteriorating situation.
They waited to hear that the President has directed a task force to go into the markets to force traders to sell foodstuffs at affordable price. They wanted to hear that he has reversed the removal of petrol subsidy. They wanted to hear that electricity tariff has been completely abolished. They wanted to hear him declare free education to Nigerian students.
Then, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu finally showed up. "My fellow Nigerians", he called. "I speak to you today with a heavy heart and a sense of responsibility, aware of the turmoil and violent protests unleashed in some of our states."
He acknowledged that the protesters were young Nigerians who desired a better and more progressive country where their dreams, hopes, and personal aspirations would be fulfilled. He also expressed pain that they had to die in the protest.
While commiserating with their families, he said he was working for a country where each person will enjoy the peace, freedom, and meaningful livelihood that only democratic good governance can provide. One that is open, transparent and accountable to the Nigerian people.
He added that some of the hard decisions he made were to set the nation on a right path. "For decades, our economy has remained anaemic and taken a dip because of many misalignments that have stunted our growth. Just over a year ago, our dear country, Nigeria, reached a point where we couldn't afford to continue the use of temporary solutions to solve long-term problems for the sake of now and our unborn generations. I therefore took the painful yet necessary decision to remove fuel subsidies and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our nation and impeded our economic development and progress.
"These actions blocked the greed and the profits that smugglers and rent-seekers made. They also blocked the undue subsidies we had extended to our neighbouring countries to the detriment of our people, rendering our economy prostrate. These decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn't serve us well. Yes, I agree, the buck stops on my table. But I can assure you that I am focused fully on delivering the governance to the people - good governance for that matter", the President said, reeling out many other steps his administration has taken to save the economy.
He said, "In the past 14 months, our government has made significant strides in rebuilding the foundation of our economy to carry us into a future of plenty and abundance. On the fiscal side, aggregate government revenues have more than doubled, hitting over 9.1 trillion Naira in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023 due to our efforts at blocking leakages, introducing automation, and mobilising funding creatively without additional burden on the people. Productivity is gradually increasing in the non-oil sector, reaching new levels and taking advantage of the opportunities in the current economic ambience.
"Coming from a place where our country spent 97% of all our revenue on debt service; we have been able to reduce that to 68% in the last 13 months. We have also cleared legitimate outstanding foreign exchange obligations of about $5billion without any adverse impact on our programmes.
"This has given us more financial freedom and the room to spend more money on you, our citizens, to fund essential social services like education and healthcare. It has also led to our State, and Local Governments receiving the highest allocations ever in our country's history from the Federation Account.
"We have also embarked on major infrastructure projects across the country. We are working to complete inherited projects critical to our economic prosperity, including roads, bridges, railways, power, and oil and gas developments. Notably, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Highway projects will open up 16 connecting states, creating thousands of jobs and boosting economic output through trade, tourism and cultural integration
"Our once-declining oil and gas industry is experiencing a resurgence on the back of the reforms I announced in May 2024 to address the gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act. Last month, we increased our oil production to 1.61million barrels per day, and our gas assets are receiving the attention they deserve. Investors are coming back, and we have already seen two Foreign Direct Investments signed of over half a billion dollars since then."
As he continued, the people turned off their televisions one after the other. Their hopes were dashed. They were disappointed that the President was not feeling the pulse of their hunger.
They said, "But the subsidy was removed over a year ago, and Nigerians didn't protest, showing that they understood that the hard decision was necessary for the country must move forward. But the protest was coming about 14 months later because Nigerians expected to start seeing some levels of reliefs.
"Rather, everything keeps getting worse. After the subsidy removal, price of petrol soared to N500/litre, then N700/litre, and now it's as high as N900/litre in some places. Inflation has soared at geometrical rate even as the prices of foodstuffs in the market have become unbearably high." They are worried that they can't see what their over one-year sacrifice has yielded.
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Everyone honest and sincere economist will tell you that the President has made the best of decisions and has truly done tremendously well in these past 14 months. If past leaders had shown this kind of commitment to reviving Nigeria's economy, the country would have been a paradise by now.
These past leaders knew it was the right decision to take, but they lacked the courage to face it because of this same aftermath that Tinubu is now confronted with. So, Tinubu actually deserves a salute, not condemnation.
But as an ardent politician that he is, one would have expected that the President will also understand the principle of a little here and a little there to properly manage the present situation. Most of his policies are ones that will secure the future of the country. But you wont leave Nigerians to faint and die before the future comes. There must be a way to manage the present situation such that Nigerians are not left in despair as they wait for the bright future that awaits them.
The President must therefore act immediately to alleviate the suffering of the people, especially as it relates to hunger. The hungry man, they say is an angry man. He can't pretend not to be aware that there's hunger in the land.
Security agents must be urged to deploy professionalism in handling the protesting youths in the face of provocation. The youths must be stopped from venting their frustrations on fellow citizens, but this can be done without necessarily using live ammunition on them.
