NIGERIANS GROAN AS TINUBU ENGAGES IN SELF-PRAISE SAYS REFORMS ARE WORKING

At the 30th Nigerian Economic Summit held on Monday in Abuja President Bola Tinubu has hailed the progress made through his administration’s reforms.

Speaking on behalf of the President,  Vice President Kashim Shettima, highlighted the positive impact of the reforms undertaken by his administration which he said were designed to diversify Nigeria’s economy and reduce its over-reliance on oil revenues

According to him, these initiatives are already beginning to deliver the much-needed change.

The President pointed to the removal of fuel subsidies, the unification of forex rates, and a renewed focus on agriculture, manufacturing, and the digital economy as critical drivers of Nigeria’s future prosperity.

With these statements the President seems immune to the economic situations of Nigeria and Nigerians, and oblivious of the hardship faced by the citizens of the nation he governs.

A statement credited to the wife of the President recently also shows the first family is ignorant of the plight of the average Nigerian,

Since inception on 29th May 2023, almost every policy of the Tinubu-led administration has made the economy, and by extension the life of Nigerians, worse.

Attempts to provide palliative measures available have been ill-conceived, half-spirited and badly implemented. Release of large chunks from the national treasury without due diligence has made the money end up in private purses. Ministers and heads of government parastatals have been indicted without attracting any sanctions from the President.

The attempt by Mr.President to paint a rosy picture to the outside world shows him as either blind to the state of the nation or simply mischievous.

Though the President never put forward a clear cut manifesto safe for a repeated sense of entitlement, certain statements he made during his campaign can be called to book.

While campaigning in Abeokuta in Ogun State, the then candidate Bola Tinobu of the All Progressives Congress promised to bring down fuel prices. The former Lagos State Governor had accused the Muhammadu Buhari administration of causing artificial fuel scarcity to make him lose the election.

Addressing APC supporters in Yoruba, Tinubu said, “Won ni epo ma won, o ma di N200, o ma di N500. E lo fokanbale, a maa gbe wale” meaning “They said there would be a fuel price hike; that it will rise to N200, to N500. Put your mind at rest; we will bring it down.”

This elicited jubilations from the crowd who saw the Lagos politician as a messiah. However, the reverse has been the case since he’s been at the helm of affairs in the last 16 months

Despite promising to bring down the price of petrol during his campaign, President Bola Tinubu has repeatedly increased petrol price by about 488 per cent – from N175 in May 2023 to N1,030 in October 2024 – inflicting more pains on the already impoverished Nigerians.

Immediately after he took the oath of office, Tinubu, like a man in a hurry, quickly announced, “The fuel subsidy is gone.”

Immediately after his pronouncement, the country’s economic situation took a downward dive, changing for the worse. Filling stations, including the ones owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, raised the pump price of petrol to above N500 per litre. Some Nigerians, who had hoped that the new administration would turn around the situation positively began to feel uneasy, though they were persuaded by the President that there would be gain after pain.

Tinubu hiked the fuel price without recourse to the promise he made in Abeokuta during his campaign that he would bring down the price of petrol.

To the average Nigerian, petrol means more than what it is in other countries. The country’s economy depends almost solely on fuel. Both the rich and the poor need petrol for one activity or the other, it may be for vehicles or to run engines used for commercial services.

The masses’ problem was compounded about two weeks after Tinubu’s inauguration when he also floated the naira.

In June, the Central Bank of Nigeria directed Deposit Money Banks to remove the rate cap on the naira at the Investors and Exporters Window of the foreign exchange market, to allow for a free float of the national currency against the dollar and other global currencies.

Following this development, the naira depreciated from around N400 per dollar to over N700/dollar during trading on the Investors and Exporters Window on June 14, 2023. Today, the naira has further lost its value, trading at over N1,600.

When the President devalued the exchange rate, the cost of petrol rose again. However, the NNPCL quickly introduced subsidy payment through the back door. While the landing cost of petrol was around N1,200, the NNPCL sold at half the price based on the promise of the Federal Government to pay the shortfall or what was tagged “under-recovery.”

While the NNPC sold the product at about N600/litre, the oil firm kept denying claims that it was paying subsidies until recently when it admitted to selling below the cost price.

When there were reports that the NNPC was indebted to a number of its PMS importers, the company hastily denied it with the company’s spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, saying “NNPC Ltd does not owe the sum of $6.8bn to any international trader(s). In the oil trading business, transactions are carried out on credit, so it is normal to have outstanding amounts at certain times,”

In order to justify the rise in PMS pump price from N600 to N855/litre or more, depending on the location, NNPCL acknowledged the company’s significant debt to petrol suppliers. This financial strain according to Soneye has placed considerable pressure on the company and it poses a threat to the sustainability of fuel supply

As the NNPC started lifting PMS from the Dangote refinery in September, it announced another price increase. Soneye hinted that a litre of the product was purchased at the rate of N898 and would sell at between N950 and N1,119.

Since the Tinubu government came on board, there has been one outcry or the other from the masses. On several occasions, labour unions and youths took to the streets to protest economic hardships.

A former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Chief Nduese Essien, asked the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government to reconsider some of its policies, warning of possible anarchy due to the growing wave of hunger and discontent among Nigerians

According to him, most of the government’s economic policies have only aggravated poverty and inflation, leaving millions of Nigerians struggling to survive.

“The level of suffering across the country is unprecedented, except perhaps during the Nigerian Civil War. Families are struggling to meet basic needs. The policies, while perhaps well-intentioned, are exacerbating poverty, increasing inflation, and hurting the most vulnerable among us”, he stated.

Meanwhile, experts have blamed the devaluation of the naira for the high price of petrol. To some, the President should not have floated the naira at the same time it removed fuel subsidies.

In an interview, the spokesperson of the Crude Oil Refinery Owners Association of Nigeria, Eche Idoko, advised the government to sell crude to local refineries at N1,000 to a dollar.

There is need for fiscal discipline and cutting the cost of governance. It is inhuman to continue down this path without a clear plan to ease the burden on the citizens.

The government cannot continue to fritter the commonwealth of the country recklessly and ask the people to make sacrifices.

Expert opinions and not self-serving political grandstanding is needed at a time the citizens are groaning under heavy hyperinflation and food crisis.

If urgent action is not taken to stem the hunger, poverty, and discontent in the country, Nigeria is at  risk of losing the patience of the people, and that could result in dire consequences,

The government needs the services of experts on macro-economic resuscitation at the helms of affairs and not political cronies and hangers-on.

Mr President needs to tell himself the truth of the Nigerian situation and tell the world the truth too.