A few days ago, a friend stopped by in my Houston office quipping and quizzing:
“Do you see What Tinubu is doing in Nigeria? He removed subsidy and now people are suffering, Man of God. No food, no fuel, people are dying every day. I thought this man promised to help the people.” Across our nation are expressions such as this. Some Nigerians are venting their pain in soliloquies and hushed voices; and others are loud and boisterous in their laments. The weight of the pain they feel is palpable. In today’s Nigeria, loud lamentations are alive in many quarters.
Just two months ago, Bola Tinubu became president of a floundering nation. Immediately on ascension, he announced that the oil subsidy, once a beneficial measure that had cost Nigeria trillions of naira yearly benefitting a few criminals with deep pockets; had to go. “To be blunt, Nigeria could never become the society it was intended to be as long as such small, powerful yet unelected groups hold enormous influence over our political economy and the institutions that govern it,” said the president in a recent nationwide address. The egregious effects of the severance of oil subsidy are now the crux of an expansive and far-flung anger and angst among Nigerians. And the people’s anger and misery are becoming a heavy cross to carry for a new administration struggling to steady its gaits as it governs.
Rational Nigerians know that for eight years, Tinubu had no voice in the bundling and unbundling of policies that brought about the stench he inherited from Muhammadu Buhari, his predecessor. Tinubu was not a cabinet minister, and he was not a favourite among Buhari’s powerful inner circle. But today, he is now charged to clean up Buhari’s sweeping and malodorous poisonous spills as president. Why are some now calling for Tinubu’s head? Because he is the head of the Titanic called Nigeria. Uneasy, someone once said, lies the head that wears the crown. Do you feel sorry for this president that he’s blamed for problems he didn’t cause, and tribulations he didn’t trigger? “Don’t feel sorry for me; I asked for the job;” he’s told you in many words and actions.
We must not forget what Tinubu inherited from Buhari. It was a hodgepodge of stench. He inherited a gulag of local and international debilitating debt. As of December 2022, Nigeria’s total public debt had hit N46.25tn. Revenue ratio to GDP was 93 per cent. In a layman’s term, if Nigeria’s revenue (income) is one hundred dollars,93 dollars go to servicing the debt this president inherited. While the size of the Federal Government budget for 2023 created some excitement, the aggregate budgets of all governments in the country amount to about N30tn. That is less than 15 per cent in terms of ratio to GDP. Nigeria’s revenue is too small to sustain the whooping debt. Tinubu inherited a nation torn into shreds by insecurity; a people in despair, and a labour workforce with dwindled enthusiasm to work. Our nation needs a fire of revival in all areas.
In a slam-dunk address to the nation a few days ago, Tinubu told us in a simple step-by-step enumerative presentation what he intends to do with Nigeria’s mega mess he inherited. I’ll capture them in a nutshell.
N75bn will be infused into the manufacturing sector to strengthen and increase its capacity to expand and create good paying jobs.
N125bn will be injected into micro, small and medium sized enterprises.
Various farmers’ associations and operators within the agricultural value chain had been engaged to ensure that prices of food items remain affordable. 200,000 metric tonnes of grains from strategic reserves have been released to households across the 36 states and FCT to moderate prices.
225,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser, seedlings and other inputs will be provided to farmers who are committed to our food security agenda.
Cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course and will be supported.
N50bn will be invested each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize.
Buses will be rolled out across the states and local governments for mass transit at a much more affordable rate. N100bn will be invested between now and March 2024 to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fueled buses.
A new minimum wage will be introduced for workers.
In a little over two months, Nigeria has saved over N1tn that would have found its way into criminals’ pockets. That will now benefit the people directly in infrastructure revamp et al. What else does a President need to do in two months that Tinubu has not done?
The Nigeria Labour Congress and its members went about many cities in Nigeria on Wednesday to protest hardship in the land. If the NLC is not a concealed weapon of the Labour Party that lost big time in the last election, if it’s not a committed and clangorous clone and an energising extension of the political party, the fight they fight now tearing down gates of The National Assembly must not be partisan. Nigerians must be pain-free. It’s what we all desire. Refineries must work. It’s our fight. Workers’ salaries must be jerked up and paid on time. It’s our fight. If in six to 12 months, Tinubu’s mitigating measures aren’t working as we hope, I’ll partner with Nigerians to blame and bawl at this president. For now, I’ll stand in his camp as he seeks ease to the pain the people are enduring. Nigerians are ready to give this president a chance to do his best salvaging Nigeria.
I mentioned last week in the first part of this treatise that Nigerians’ indomitability, indefatigability, and unconquerability are very evident, but Nigerians are also susceptible to pain. The indomitable, the unconquerable, the undefeatable can still feel pain. Right now; Nigerians are in pain. The pain they feel isn’t partisan. The pain is not ethnic or religious. It is simply the Nigerian pain that comes from hunger, poverty, hopelessness, and all manner of vices. As I also mentioned last week, in my later-in-life career, I was trained to administer pain medications. I have administered painkillers orally, subcutaneously, intradermally, intravenously, and topically to many people in real and severe pain. I have also received pain medications when hit with bodily discomfort. Pain is unbearable. Whether it’s from a sore thumb or broken toenails, It’s uncomfortable. Pain is an abnormal physiological function and a sign that the worst may follow. But interventional pain through medication is a sign that the pain will soon wane.
Will Nigeria’s holistic situation get better? Yes! When? That’s in the exclusive knowledge of our all-knowing GOD and the cooperating and synergetic partnership of Tinubu; his cabinet, and every Nigerian with a stake in the pursued wholesomeness of the Giant of Africa. With our metastasizing mess; no mortal man as leader has a magic wand to force a solution. Even with divine intervention in Nigeria’s many afflictions, things will get fiery worse before they get bountifully better.
- Concluded
- Twitter @FolaOjotweet
