{SPECIAL REPORT} At 2 years six months to end of tenure, Tinubu still promising Nigerians solution
One year six months into these sufferings and hardship, however, President Tinubu is still appealing to Nigerians for patience just as he and his political marketers are also working assiduously hard on how to win the 2027 elections and earn another four-year tenure.
By KEMI KASUMU
The DEFENDER has taken an analytical look at the fact that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, two years and six months to end of his tenure, has continued to promise the Nigerian people of his administration’s commitment to proferring solutions to their one year six months old sufferings and economic hardship.
Tinubu came to power on May 29, 2024 and remains a Nigerian president with so much power and influence with which by mere pronouncement, which is policy, as he was reading his inaugural speech, socio-economic life of Nigerians moved from manageable to extreme hardship – with immediate effect.
The President had in his campaign outings from late 2022 until the presidential election of February 25, 2023, promised the nation that if he won he would remove fuel subsidy and unify the foreign exchange rates, especially Naira to Dollar.
He was said to be, therefore, fulfilling his campaign promises to Nigerians, who walked from the inauguration venue at Eagle Square, Three-Arm Zone, Abuja to the reality of petrol pump price he inherited from then President Muhammadu Buhari at N184 (NNPCL) and N185 (major marketers) skyrocketedly jumping to N500 and above.
President Tinubu also effected a new foreign exchange regime that saw Naira in an irretrievably prostrating position to the Dollar from what he was handed by his predecessor.
Buhari handed Nigerian economy of around N430 to $1 (official) and N700 (black market) to Tinubu on May 29, 2023. The former Governor of Lagos State, in his effort to achieve his campaign promise fulfilment of forex unification, ended up landing the country in a situation where, not only there has been no difference between official and black market rates but also, exchange rate had gone irredeemably from N700 to N1,800 before it dropped to N1,100 and has continued to climb back until it is now about N1,700 to $1.
For the reason of forex in a country that is foreign produced Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) dependent, fuel has caterported from N184/N185 under Buhari to N500 to N568, N650, N700, N850 and currently N1,200 under Tinubu, depending on which filling station and what franchise it operates.
In an economy from which a Senator draws N21 million salary per month to the astonishment of ordinary Nigerian worker still being hardly paid N30,000 despite approved N70,000 minimum wage on paper, cost of living has soared and movement within and across the country has become a source of worry in terms of cost and security of roads.
Under the period, return ticket of an air travel from Lagos to Abuja has hit N400,000 and in one of the universities, to particularly mention, school fees have been increased from N30,000 to N250,000 and N60,000 to N412,000 respectively while tax rates and bank interest have continued to increase.
One year six months into these sufferings and hardship, however, President Tinubu is still appealing to Nigerians for patience just as he and his political marketers are also working assiduously hard on how to win the 2027 elections and earn another four-year tenure.
That was exactly the takeaway from the President’s broadcast speech he gave Tuesday morning of October 1, 2024 celebrating Independence Anniversary of Nigeria, a child still crawling at 64.
Tinubu said, “As your President, I assure you that we are committed to finding sustainable solutions to alleviate the suffering of our citizens. Once again, I plead for your patience as the reforms we are implementing show positive signs, and we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.”
He said, “Exactly 64 years ago, our founding fathers chose democracy as a form of government and launched the dream of a great country that would lead the rest of Africa out of poverty, ignorance, and underdevelopment, a beacon of hope to the rest of Africa and the world.
“Over six decades later, we can look back, and Nigerians worldwide can see how well we have succeeded in realising the lofty dreams of our founding fathers.
“The world is witnessing and benefiting from the can-do spirit of the Nigerian people, our massive intellectual capacity, and our enterprise and industry in all vocations, from arts to science, technology to infrastructure. The dreams that our founding fathers envisaged are still a work in progress. Every day, we put our hands on the plough, determined to do a better job of it.
“While it is tempting to focus on what has been left undone and where we have stumbled as a nation, we must never lose sight of how far we have come in forging and holding our country together.
“Since independence, our nation has survived many crises and upheavals that led to the dissolution and disintegration of many other nations worldwide. Six years after independence, our country descended into a political crisis that led to a bitter and avoidable civil war. Since returning from the brink of that darkest moment, we have learned to embrace our diversity and manage our differences better as we continue to work towards engendering a more perfect union.
“Despite the many challenges that buffeted our country, we remain a strong, united, and viable sovereign nation.”
However, this globalised online newspaper, while congratulating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the occasion of 64th Independence Anniversary, wishes to suggest that the best way to make Nigerians remain a strong, united, and viable sovereign nation is when they are not so in the word of mouth alone but also as constitutionally practicable as they should be.
Many Nigerians believe that the President, who Supreme Court of Nigeria ruled was their duly elected President from the February 25, 2023 election, does neither sees nor is told the truth about their living condition.
They gave this as reason he has been ordering security agents to clampdown on peaceful protesters, whose major reason for being on the streets is because protest is the only constitutionally guaranteed means of making their President see their sufferings. The attitude of his supporters, who bully the crying citizens and the cheated, persecuted Nigerians without hope of getting a helper against their persecutors, has created the impression that Nigerians now have a country where evils not only thrive but are rewarded with meritorious award, while integrity and honesty can no longer take anyone anywhere.
Beyond convening a National Youth Confab, therefore, President Bola Tinubu should immediately get to work with a revigorised commitment to rehabilitating the moral standard of Nigerians and lifting them spiritually through sincere and non-sycophant religious and traditional leaders with a national interest-fashioned syllabus of character re-building.
The President, himself, should purge himself and his cabinet of things that cost administration public trust. The DEFENDER is not for cut in cost of governance but an advocate of for state money well spent for the good of the people. Any government spending that has no direct impact on security and economy of the average Nigerian is a waste.
The people of Nigeria do not deserve the treatment of politically designed “economic empowerment”, “palliatives” or “hardship” or even student loan and any other social designs that only friends of ruling party can access, while multitude of other citizens not part of those around the power corridor continue to wallow in their helpless state.
Government need to build on achievements of founding fathers of Nigeria. If companies or industries established in Europe in the 1830s still run effectively and continue to make profits and contributing jobs to their economies, current leaders should bother how they arrived at the decision that ideas of founding fathers – by which the only developments Nigeria has witnessed in history was possible – are aquake and overtaken by modernisation, whereas owners of the western modernisation they embrace do not allow their own foundation of development to be so wiped away.
President Tinubu should come out of his rock of power, raise his sleef and get to work. Dust the papers of history to see how Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, grandson of Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio, built Northern Nigeria as Premier without oil money but with money made from cotton and groundnut pyramid, how Chief Obafemi Awolowo built the Western Nigeria without oil but with money made from cocoa and same thing with Dr. Mike Okpara, how he built tge Eastern Nigeria without oil but with money made from rubber and palm oil.
These were the templates used by founding fathers of Nigeria to achieve all the pre-oil era developments, the only things that Nigeria can continue to point to especially the textile mills that Northern Nigeria was most prominent for and which was the sector of national economy with the largest account of employment.
When he revisits these means of true development and especially revive the textile sector, provide unhindered basic amenities (not palliatives or economic empowerment accessed either by favouritism or lottery) and, himself, lead by example in the fight against corruption by ensuring transparency and accountability of governance, only then President Tinubu or any government head of the country, who is sincere about leading for the good of the people, can convince serious thinkers that truly, “Despite the many challenges that buffeted our country, we remain a strong, united, and viable sovereign nation”, as claimed by the President. Otherwise, such statement will remain political, unrealistic.
Finally, The DEFENDER calls for resuscitation of fuel subsidy regime. Any serious nation, where the people matter, supports its law abiding citizens with ease of living a good life and this can come by way of subsidising agriculture and the rest but the best that goes down to the people, if properly managed, is fuel subsidy.
Now, Dangote Refinery is here. If subsidy removal on imported fuel was claimed to have been influenced by corruption as only few people were benefiting and not allowing the benefits get to the targeted masses, now is the time to restore the fuel subsidy. It is simply about going to Dangote Refinery with an enquiry on its cost of producing a litre and subsidising it to the barest minimal.
Specifically, If Dangote produces at N760, Nigerian government should subsidy by N560 so consumers can buy at between N200, landing cost inclusive. If government cannot pay now that it knows the money will not be corruptly managed as the refinery will receive it directly, then what is the essence of government if it only funds its leaders and keeps encouraging the poor masses to endure and be patient.
