Nigerians: Happy, hopeful under grinding policies

During the electioneering campaigns leading up to the 2023 presidential elections, the Punch Newspaper of October 21 2022, in a piece titled “Manifesto: Tinubu’s 10 promises to Nigerians”, chronicled the 10 promises this current administration made to Nigerians which essentially centred on the country’s economy, transportation, power, etc.

The focal point, as far as those promises were concerned, was basically to create a better Nigeria for the teeming youths by providing job opportunities and respectable earnings, make Nigeria a creator and not just a consumer, and ensure we export more and import less to enhance the value of the naira, etc.

A flurry of policies, some of which have been described in certain quarters as being too radical and extreme, especially those targeting the economy, were set in motion by Tinubu. However, the truth is that some of this administration’s economic policies are historic and unprecedented in every practical sense. Had their contrivance and implementation been initiated gradually but steadily by past administrations, the biting effects Nigerians are currently facing, which have cowered many through life due to the throes of economic deprivation the nation is battling, the likes of which have never been experienced before possibly in modern-day Nigerian history, and one which makes the austerity witnessed during the IMF-induced Structural Adjustment Programme (“IMF-SAP”) economic reforms of the Babangida regime look like a child’s play, would possibly not have arisen if the big elephant in the room, “corruption pandemic”, is given the desired attention it requires by this government and efforts sincerely made to curb it.

The economic initiative to naira-sell the crude oil to Dangote refinery and other local refineries instead of the long-term conventional manner of effectuating such transactions in dollars which indeed is going to have widespread consequences on the value of the naira, is one of the novel economic policies of this government.

Furthermore, “The fuel subsidy is gone” statement of Tinubu, made in his inaugural speech on May 29 2023, which later became a policy – though many believe the delivery could have been better done for greater results, anticipatedly should abruptly end what President Tinubu himself described as a “scam” and “disincentive to growth as it rewards smugglers”. The oil subsidy, seen by many as a gigantic cesspool of corruption and a monumental drain on the public finances of the country, has befuddled the nation for many years in which Mele Kyari, the chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) affirmed that six billion dollars was being spent on these payments annually before its removal. This is one of the right steps taken by this administration that are expected to have insightful sweeping effects.

Nonetheless, Nigerians are today, witnessing first hand, the effects of the economic reforms of this administration which though desirous, could have been better implemented in a much less aggressive and bullish manner, and in a style that they do not continue to fund corruption the way some have been reported to do, in order to accomplish far superior outcomes. Nothing could be plainer: Nigerians, particularly the vulnerable and the poor, are presently going through a period in their lives where there is a huge price on the little cash they possess, otherwise known as the “inflation tax”, which has substantially crashed the purchasing power of the ordinary Nigerians and heightened poverty to an all-time high.

Many folks are facing a ferocious economic headwinds with the affordability crisis that has been ravaging Nigerians. Countless needs are unmet for months due to the prices of goods and services going over the roof, with the basic necessities of life – food, water, rents, clothes, school fees, vacation, health care, etc, completely out of reach of many; leaving Nigerians to just hope that things will get better. But it seems the government is running roughshod over these concerns. They are yelling a loud no to these unending suffering confronting them, with many abled-body young men and women begging just to earn enough money to fix the basics while they cope to get by.

Over the course of a dozen and half months, many people have had to face relentless salvos on their economic well-being – many have lost count, expecting that the government will shake things up to reflect the promises made by President Tinubu to better their lives and not make their respective situations worse. Several Nigerians are living financially disordered and grumpy lives at the moment.

Nigerians, as they often do, have a head start in various fields globally. Exceptionally enterprising, ingenious, and creative, many of whom are successfully churning out impressive concepts that are providing unparalleled solutions across the globe to solve worldwide problems.

Many hope that Nigeria will attain a threshold where the SMEs will assume the backbone of the nation’s economy like it is in many of the developed nations. Many of these hardworking Nigerians are not asking the government at any level to subsidise their freeloading, neither are they providing excuses just to earn their keep; things are not just currently adding up and they need urgent help to be pulled up to their feet.

Many folks who are working their fingers to the bone, up most times at night and steering into space because of loads of unfulfilled expectations and expenses running up unabatedly, recognise that these are harrowing times for the country and are doing everything possible to remain peaceful, patriotic and make the requisite adjustments to weather the economic storm while staying hopeful and happy. Nevertheless, the same cannot be said regarding many of the political office holders who many see as going on spending sprees at the expense of the people with the over-bloated cost of governance and needless spending.

Forced to reel in a backwash of momentous economic changes they did not see coming, many Nigerians hope, like what political leaders in saner climes do during hard times by cutting all forms of luxuries and spending, that our political leaders will adopt the same spirit and demonstrate a high sense of responsibility by not just cutting off all inessential expense lines but drastically reducing those expenses that are considered necessary. This is the time to show you feel the pains of the people by appointing “Waste Czars” to ensure that all forms of waste, frauds, and inefficiencies in government are completely purged or at best, pruned down to the barest minimum, and the nation is not expending her limited resources to finance things we can do without.

This administration must talk less and listen more to the groaning of the people. The massive leadership deficit in the system is a cause for serious worry and the government needs to do something fast about it. It is also critical to even up the score with all those responsible for corruptive activities, regardless of party affiliations, creed or gender by settling accounts with them. Corruption in any way, shape or form must not be tolerated by this government and must be faced headlong. This, in my opinion, will restore confidence in the system and re-establish the faintest light at the end of the tunnel which appeared to have faded away rather fast.

I must stress that the messaging of government is as crucial as the content of the message. To be meaningful, all platitudes and political flabbiness must be gotten rid of in order to unclutter. However, a lot of information seem to be obscured from the populace, and some of the government representatives that are expected to calm frayed nerves at this hard times with correct reportage have been reported to state fictional stories, which Nigerians are not sold on, that in many ways, divagate into triviality, instead of representing the government well by engaging in grandiloquence that will pull people back into the centre of hope, away from the quagmire of depravity, hopelessness and neglect that they are currently in.

At this dire time, moral leadership is required for many of the government spokespersons at all levels and even for representatives of all MDAs: The way they say what they say, and to whom, is as fundamental as what they say. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration needs to prioritise easing the economic pains on the people. This is an extraordinary moment in time for most Nigerians economically, and they cannot wait to draw the curtains on the economic aches they have suffered for months and to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The current economic realities can well be likened to a volcanic firestorm for most Nigerians. Yet, in the face of these daunting challenges which are suffocating, Nigerians are proving not to be quitters who lose out.

Fearless in their economic struggles and keeping a solid clutch on their belief, Nigerians are incredibly happy people and ardent believers in the Nigerian Project. They may be currently ravaged with poverty but are still hopeful, knowing full well that being poor is not a destination, it is just a journey.

Ande, a financial and political economy analyst, writes from Lagos and can be reached via [email protected]