ONE YEAR OF TINUBU PRESIDENCY
The administration should work on policies that improve the general welfare of the people
When President Bola Tinubu took the oath of office one year ago, expectations were high even if the optimism of his supporters was at odds with the times. A few weeks in office, the president admitted as much while pledging to pull the country out of the slump. “Our policy implementation will reform the economy, ensure inclusive growth, and strengthen security for peace and prosperity. Without security, there can be no investment,” Tinubu told members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) inaugural meeting last August. After one year in the saddle, however, there is much to worry about. Meanwhile, his unwieldy cabinet has not shown sufficient indication that anything has changed.
Even if we admit that a year is too short to objectively assess an administration, it is nonetheless disappointing that many things are still out of place. The government, on assuming office, took a bold and courageous step by removing the hemorrhaging and corruption-ridden subsidy on petrol. Shortly after, it also floated the nation’s currency, the Naira, thus eliminating another source of easy money to those close to the corridors of power and others at a grave cost to the economy. But these bold measures were largely mismanaged, particularly at the initial stage, the consequences of which are hard on the people. The removal of subsidy shot up the cost of fuel multiple fold, and by extension, the cost of transportation, and indeed, virtually everything. The Naira has also been devalued by some 300 per cent, leading also to astronomical inflation and rise in the cost of services and commodities, further pauperising millions of Nigerians who are already living on the edge.
More worrying is that nothing significant is in place to cushion the impact of these policy measures. The Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) project is still in the works, one year after. The so-called palliative hardly got to the people for whom it was meant. Companies are shutting down and the rate of joblessness is at an all-time high. Students are dropping out of schools, and health services are increasingly becoming out of reach for many people. All this has engendered the prevalent public disillusionment against the administration. Indeed, former President Olusegun Obasanjo last week noted, quite correctly that the right policies have been put in place, but implementation have led to “the impoverisation of the economy and of Nigerians,” a sentiment shared by many Nigerians, including a former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Olisa Agbakoba.
To compound these challenges, the security situation is still treacherous. Although some progress has been made, as there is more understanding among the security officers, Boko Haram, the brutal insurgent group, still constitutes a security issue. This is not to mention other cocktail of crimes and criminal activities – from kidnapping, armed robbery, herdsmen-farmers conflicts, and general banditry – crimes that constitute additional instability to the country. According to reports, over 8,000 persons have been killed nationwide since the current administration took over. An Abuja security and investigative firm, Beacon Security and intelligence limited revealed recently that gunmen killed 2,583 persons and kidnapped 2,164 in the first quarter of this year, mostly in the north.
The general insecurity has also made all pronouncements about agriculture in the past year more talk than substance since it is difficult to implement policies. Many farmers can hardly venture into their farms out of fear, contributing to poor output, and rise in the cost of food, and living. From whichever way one examines the situation, the scorecard of the last one year in Nigeria is not salutary. Fortunately, the president still has three more years to work towards promoting policies that improve the general welfare of ordinary people.
