By Zainab Suleiman Okino
By now, it should be clear to all that no one is safe from bad government policies, including its cheerleaders. The effects of wrong-headed approach to governance is evident in every home, every plate of food (if any), quality of living; even on Abuja’s now near empty streets, and near collapse of small-scale businesses. We all bear the brunt of ill-advised and ill-timed policies as recently enunciated by the new government of President Bola Tinubu.
In contrast, the over 100 convoy of cars in the president’s movement in Lagos, the almost 50 SUVs seen earlier during his triumphant return to Abuja in preparation for the inauguration; the governors’ and lawmakers’ convoys, numerous aides and the flamboyance, lavish lifestyle, waste associated with them and their retinue—of staff, family members, appointees– all show the polarity in the lives of those in authority and the governed.
The stratified society being created by dimming the hope for Eldorado that Nigerians had hoped the new president represents, speaks volume, from his actions so far. Welcome to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s republic. Within one month of his coming to power, everything nosedived, for worse. The initial euphoria of ‘an action government’ has since given way to disillusionment. Replacing President Muhammadu Buhari who took almost six months to appoint some principal staff, with the same dullness dogging his government in eight years, the Tinubu regime was ushered in with open hands and excitement because he was at least proactive having taken some salient actions and made key appointments early in the day. How good or bad those decisions are, are now measured and talked about in every home, office or street corner in the country.
Tinubu told us to tighten our belts and make sacrifices for the country. He removed petrol subsidy, the last semblance of government impact in the lives of the people, and floated the Naira almost in one fell swoop with devastating consequences.
These twin actions erased all pretensions about renewing our hopes in good governance, because there was no iota of thought for the poor. Normally, before a new government unleashes terror, it tries to cuddle and romance the people with some positive vibes in friendly policy pronouncements, as a means of appreciation. No, not with Tinubu. From the get go, he showed the ugly signs of things to come. The cancellation of the official forex has raised the naira beyond the black-market rate that Tinubu inherited.
I am not an economic analyst, but as a practical and realistic player in the Nigerian street economic system, my experience of the last few days is proof that the government has fleeced us. Tinubu cancelled multiple exchange rates and unified same. On paper. For instance, If you want any hard currency like dollars or pounds, you have to purchase at the black-market rate (which is still multiple). Yet, you still have to go through CBN’s Import and Export (I &E) window using Form A. What is the point of form A again (supposedly the official market rate window of the previous government), whereas there is no facilitation by CBN and while you still have to buy dollars from the black market and process through a dorm account. The only reason I guess is to enable you and I pay tax to a government that has abdicated its responsibility of protecting and managing the nation’s fiscal and monetary policies? In simple term, citizens are made to pay for services not rendered by CBN, in addition to bank charges.
Meanwhile, the much-talked about palliatives to cushion the effect of the new policy measures may soon become stale. If it was so easy to pronounce by fiat that ‘subsidy is gone,’ why is it so difficult to pronounce palliatives into instant action? Is it when more Nigerians have been pushed further down the poverty level as predicted by the World Bank which observed that further 7.1 million more poor Nigerians will be added to the 130 million dimensionally poor, that the palliatives will come? Isn’t that medicine after death?
Meanwhile countries of the West which we love to copy blindly still subsidise and offer palliatives to their citizens. In a Bloomberg report of November 2022, it was revealed that the German government was going to spend 83.3 billion Euro to subsidise the 2023 energy prices. The subsidies will cover the cost of gas and district heating, and reduce the cost of electricity for households and businesses to protect them from “higher energy prices.” It was also disclosed in the same report that governments across Euro area have spent 200 billion Euro to support energy and economic output. Not doing the above is tantamount to committing mass murder in Europe considering their inclement weather. But for Nigeria, the impunity of those who govern us is celebrated, even more by those oppressed and or impacted adversely.
In his weekly column in Tribune, Professor Farooq Kperogi, noted that the US government subsidises and gives palliatives as a form of social service despite officials’ involvement in corruption, maintaining that instead of stopping the palliatives, the government fights the inherent corruption in its application of the palliatives. Contrary to this logic, what the Tinubu government has done so far is to condone corruption and allow those involved in forex exchange and fuel subsidy scams go scot-free. The vulnerable is punished for the infractions of the rich while the poor wallows in more misery.
By his action so far, we have an idea of the colour of the Tinubu government and its direction in the coming days. Are you surprised that the new government is yet to make concrete statements concerning the twin challenges of corruption and insecurity plaguing the country and the possibility of local refining of crude? What is his position on our comatose refineries and over 70 registered Modular refineries? The new government should have got those refineries working before subsidy removal. I do like the electricity bill that he signed into law. States and groups now have the opportunity to generate their own power without recourse to the Federal Government.
Instead, Tinubu has created more damage and confusion in the system, while doing more politically correct things such as board dissolution, key personal appointments, fuel and forex matters and removal of CBN governor Emefiele and EFCC chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa, which analysts say bordered on personal vendetta.
Yet, it is a no-brainer that refining locally, ordering manufacturers of highly consumed goods such as car and phone companies to establish their plants here if they want to operate in the Nigerian market etc., will create employment opportunities for citizens, reduce fuel prices, and stabilise forex to a certain extent and draw hard currencies back home.
On security, our story has not changed. At least 123 deaths have occurred since Tinubu’s inauguration according to Isa Sanusi, Acting Nigeria Director of Amnesty International.
“It is horrific that attacks by gunmen have claimed at least 123 lives more weeks after President Bola Tinubu assumed office on 29 May. Rural communities, always bracing themselves for the next bout of violence, are facing deadly attacks by rampaging killers. Protecting lives should be the utmost priority of the new government. The Nigerian authorities must urgently take steps to stop the bloodletting.
“The brazen failure of the authorities to protect the people of Nigeria is gradually becoming the ‘norm’ in the country. The government said it will enact security measures in response to these attacks, but these promises have not translated into meaningful action that protects the lives of vulnerable communities. The Nigerian authorities have also consistently failed to carry out independent, effective, impartial and thorough investigations into these killings — and this is fuelling impunity.
“The Nigerian authorities are obliged under international human rights law, regional human rights treaties and Nigeria’s own constitution to protect the human rights of all people without discrimination — and that includes the right to life. Those suspected of criminal responsibility for these callous crimes must urgently be brought to justice in fair trials.” None of these has happened so far.
To be honest, Tinubu has his job cut out for him, and Nigerians were eager and even impatient for a life-changing experience as contained in his policy documents and espoused by his minders. Asking for more time and sacrifice is no elixir to our pain. As president now, Tinubu lives on the state, which provides all his needs. He doesn’t pay for electricity bills, accommodation, or transportation. His security is guaranteed; his well-being (and healthcare) is on the state as against the citizens who struggle daily to eat. What kind of sacrifice will he make as a Nigerian, not as president, because we know that in Nigeria leadership takes and manages everything? We have the right to know.
Already Tinubu has lost the euphoria and initial advantage going for him. Going forward, he may have to do a lot to mitigate the negative impact of his initial policies to prove his doubters wrong and make meaningful impact in a bleeding country. It will be too bad to associate his regime with only enriching the rich and further pauperising the poor.
Zainab Suleiman Okino chairs Blueprint Editorial Board. She is a fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (FNGE). She can be reached via: zainabokino@gmail.com
