When the notice for President Bola Tinubu’s New Year broadcast was issued, Nigerians were full of hope to hear something that would not only lift their dampened spirits but also boost their confidence in a government that has not really given them anything to cheer. At a time when the nation and its people are experiencing spiral inflation, high cost of living and hardship, they were not expecting a drab rehash of what they heard before or promises that do not add up.
Tinubu eventually spoke but, instead of restoring hope, which his government claims is its cardinal principle, he told the same old story that has been repeated over and over in the life of the administration. The government is thumping its chest for the removal of fuel subsidy. The government is happy with itself for the so-called unification of the exchange rate window, which brought a merger of the public/government rate and that of the black market. The government prides itself as having figuratively done what Napoleon could not do by these two policy changes. The government is pleased with itself.
The reality, however, is that inasmuch as fuel subsidy removal was desirable, it was obvious that the government did not have any ready programme for its aftermath. Where government was expected to have unfolded an immediate programme as remedy for the shocks of fuel subsidy removal, what happened were inaction and a waiting game for the manifestation of the consequences of the action, before taking any remedial measures. It took the threat of the organised labour for the government to start a haphazard palliative regime to cushion the effects of subsidy removal, promised increment of federal government workers’ salary and other sundry tokenism, which have not really brought Nigerians back to the Muhammadu Buhari days, at least.
What is also true is that, although Nigerians understood that fuel subsidy would have to go at one point or another, they never expected that a government that should know the effects of such a policy would also float the naira, in the name of exchange rate unification, at the same time. The perceived gains of the exchange rate merger have not been seen. Rather, the policy has spiked the exchange rate to an all-time high of N1,200 to the United States dollar, something that was never experienced in the country before, even in the worst economic situation.
In a new year, a government that is in its eighth month in office should stop telling us that its conjugated actions whose effects on the common man are high cost of living and untold hardship were the best things to have happened to the country, but to begin doing things that would change the narrative, in the true sense of it. There are issues that need urgent mitigation, which would lay the foundation for progress.
For one, the cost of fuel is an issue. Second, despite what the spin doctors of the government think, insecurity across the country is an issue. Number three, no matter how much the government would gloat about its accomplishments, power/electricity supply is a major issue. Number four, no matter how much the government would pretend, the fact that the country is badly polarised is real. These and many others are the low-hanging fruits for the government to pluck and tackle, as they are the fulcrum of progress in the country.
The cheapest fuel anybody could buy in the country is at the rate of N568 per litre in the gas stations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in Lagos, south-west of Nigeria. In other parts of the country, in the South East and the North, petrol sells for as high as N680 per litre. In Abuja, it is N617 per litre. The government had announced that the turnaround maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery had been completed last month, as earlier promised, but nobody has said what Nigerians should expect therefrom. If one of the country’s refineries would be put to use, is there any expectation that there would be a drop, even if marginal, in the cost of fuel per litre? The repair of the government refinery is good news, but it would be better news to hear that this would cause reduction in the price of fuel. Also, coming at a time when the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals, in which government has a stake, is already receiving crude oil for refining, should Nigerians hope for reduced fuel price? Price reduction is a founded expectation. Government should not give Nigerians the theory of market forces, which has been a voodoo economic theory used to ensure the retention of the status quo. What Nigerians expect is that the repair of Port Harcourt Refinery and the coming on stream of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals would bring succour to Nigerians, with regard to cost of fuel.
The government talks about turnaround of the economy in the coming years, but there is nothing tangible that has been said about power/electricity. It is really a shame that a country of more than 200 million people like Nigeria cannot successfully generate as little as 10,000 megawatts of electricity, when it is obvious that power or electricity supply plays a major role in the economy of a nation. Everything revolves round electricity, whether it is production, modern agricultural or technology. Electricity is at the centre. Let the federal government take power as a major project, with short-term, medium-term and long-term projections, and diligently act for the achievement of results. Action on power should go beyond telling Nigerians that President Tinubu met with an electricity company in Dubai. Nigerians should be told the government’s plan of action and programme that would raise the megawatts being generated in the country higher within this year. Anything short of this is mere lip service.
No community or country would thrive in a state of insecurity. Just as 2023 was winding down, terrorist attacks were unleashed on Plateau State communities, leaving more than 150 people dead. In other states like Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Benue, Taraba, Borno and Yobe, bandits are on the prowl, killing and maiming people as well as destroying their property and sources of livelihood. With insecurity pervading the country, peace would be elusive and economic revival unachievable. When criminals operate freely, agriculture, which the government has projected as an area in which it would do much this year, would be hampered. In many communities, people no longer go to the farm because of insecurity.
When agriculture is hampered by the activities of criminals, food security would be a mirage. Therefore, government should have a holistic programme to protect life and property across the country. The sustained attacks on communities in the Middle Belt and others must be arrested. The military should organise “Operation Red Eye” or “Operation Conquest” or whatever against bandits, terrorists and criminals who are making attacks and killings in the North Central and other places a pastime. Our security agencies and the military should step up their game in intelligence-gathering, pre-emptive and surveillance operations, response and counter-attacks. Failure to guarantee these measures would leave the people applying self-help, which the military authorities have said is not the best way to go. A people who do not have confidence in their military and other security agencies would devise ways to protect themselves. Pockets of community armies would certainly bring about anarchy and the loss of authority by the legitimate armed forces.
This year, the government should make Project Unify Nigerians a top priority. It may look insignificant but the polarisation and fragmentation of the country would be a deadly blow on the psyche, peace and progress of the nation. Politics and the spoils of office have really caused division in the country. Government says that politics and elections are over and, therefore, the winners and the losers should join hands to make the country better. But its actions have proved that winners take all. Ethnic groups that did not support or vote for the Tinubu government are still being hounded. Appointments are pro-Yoruba ethnic group. The body language of people in government, consciously or unconsciously makes the losers believe that, having lost, there is nothing for them.
The government, therefore, should quickly and consciously begin to do things that would make Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic and political affiliations or creed, have a sense of Nigerianness. Whether APC or a Yoruba man is the President, the fact remains that the country belongs to all Nigerians. The government should call those who are trying to intimidate others because of withholding of support for the government in power to desist from such practice. Democracy is about choice. Every voter has a choice to make. Voters’ choice should not be used against them. Such misbahaviour by bad winners is causing alienation as in South East, for instance, where the people are crying marginalisation and demanding a referendum to opt out of the country.
The Tinubu government should work out a unification agenda that would give all Nigerians a sense of belonging, where appointments would represent national spread and federal character principle, where the spirit of give and take would prevail. The government should guarantee Nigerians peace and safety. The people of the Middle Belt should be protected to have confidence in the country and its leadership. The South East should be embraced and integrated into governance as a component of Nigeria, despite the fact that the majority from the region supported another political party in the last presidential election. Also, the South East and its leaders’ demand for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) should be looked into as a reconciliatory move. The North, which feels that it has been displaced by the fact that power now lies in the hand of a non-northerner should be made to feel that all is not lost. These are ways to ensure reconciliation and unity.
By May, the Tinubu government would be one year old in office. At the end of the year, the government would be 19 months old in office, close to its mid-term. The government has enough time to make Nigerians feel its impact positively. The year 2024 is decisive. It is the window to the mid-term of the government. If the government could be more coordinated and stop the hit-and-miss phenomenon that is happening today, channel loans to productive areas that would yield revenue and reduce the cost of government, the year would be fruitful.