Tinubu Squeezes Water from the Proverbial Stone

By Keem Abdul

When he took over as Nigeria’s President at the end of May 2023, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, was under no illusions that the job he had undertaken was going to be a walk in the park. All he wanted from the Nigerian people, he said then, was patience, understanding and cooperation, rather than cynicism and despair.

Given the circumstances under which he assumed office, the President can be said to have squeezed water from the proverbial stone. In the one year or so since his assumption of office, he has not only implemented innovative solutions to our developmental challenges, but also begun to attack the underlying problems of the Nigerian state at their roots. His policy reforms attest to this, but they’re not the only actions through which the President is gradually but surely untying the Gordian Knot that has held Nigeria back for so long.

First of all, allocations to all states have been increased by at least 45% from what they were getting (thanks in part to the funds freed from the abolition of the petroleum subsidy payments). Interestingly, states like Nassarawa now get almost 100% more than their previous allocations, and Anambra receives 70% more (even as their respective wage bills have remained the same).

The administration has just approved a new minimum wage of N70, 000 for public sector workers (pending the approval of the National Assembly) in addition to facilitating the prompt payment of salaries as and when due – plus an additional ₦35,000 monthly wage support. Tinubu has also extended this support to the subnational entities as well, giving state and LG workers palliatives, and sending 20 trucks of rice to each state.

Not to forget the massive and ambitious infrastructure undertakings and targets the administration has set for itself in the short, medium and long terms – the most notable being the Calabar-Uyo Coastal Highway (currently underway and slated to be a key economic catalyst for the transit of goods and services along that corridor and its catchment areas).

Also, in approving the payment of local council funds directly to the LGs themselves, Tinubu has all but achieved the much sought-after Local Government Autonomy which has engaged the efforts of advocates of ‘true federalism’ for so long. Many key stakeholders are calling it an accomplishment of historic proportions.

Add to the above the President’s many un-reported or under-reported achievements – such as improving the state of security in the land, especially in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, which has engendered increased oil production there; the increased flow of investments into the economy (like the $30bn Foreign Direct Investment commitments secured during the past one year); the laudable projects being executed by the FCT Ministry, thanks to the full financial autonomy granted the FCT by Pres. Tinubu; the signing of the 2023 Electricity Act into law, which has marked a significant milestone in the sector (notably by ending federal monopoly in the power sector and empowering states and the private sector to generate, distribute and transmit their own power); the President’s role in facilitating the acquisition of aircraft by local operators under the Dry Lease Agreement to enhance their ability to compete favorably with their international counterparts on international routes, and in particular, the support the FG gave Air Peace to secure daily flights on the lucrative Lagos-London route, which resulted in the crash of ticket prices on that route; the reduction of fuel importation by 51.4%; and the administration’s efforts toward enhancing food security – and you have a President who is hell-bent on doing whatever it takes to reverse the downward trend in Nigeria’s economic trajectory.

As if the above accomplishments were not impactful enough, the FG ended the scarcity of international passports, as was hitherto the case, as well as shortened the waiting time for application, renewal and collection of said passports (which usually took ages) to less than two weeks.

As a demonstration of its commitment to a vibrant startup sector as an important economic driver, the Tinubu administration initiated and has begun payment of the ₦50,000 Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme to nano-businesses.

And what about the student loan initiative? When he signed into law the bill providing for its implementation, in April this year, Tinubu noted that its objective was to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths, irrespective of socio-economic background. The successful execution of this scheme, including the mode of disbursements, application of the funds, and repayments, etc, is expected to have multiple positive effects on Nigeria’s educational system.

Thanks to the Tinubu Economic Template – and the reforms it has put in place – key fundamentals of the Nigerian economy have experienced a significant uptick since May 2023. The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), for example, achieved a 3.1% growth according to CBN figures. Also, Nigeria now enjoys a trade surplus of ₦6.52 trillion, thanks to the FG’s bold decision to make imported goods expensive so as to increase local productivity and enhance self-sufficiency. The same goes for the country’s foreign reserves, these being the truest measure by which one can gauge a country’s ability to service its overseas obligations. They now stand at $36.89bn, and trending upwards.

Talking about true federalism (as mentioned above) and the role of sub-national entities in national development, the Tinubu administration has on many occasions signaled to said sub-nationals that it is time for them to pull their weight, as can be seen by the aforementioned payments of extra allocations to states, and the direct payments of LG funds. Beyond money, these actions by the Tinubu administration are a function of the President’s understanding that the successful overhaul of the Nigerian economy would depend to a great extent on the reconfiguration of the polity and its key institutions – economic, judicial, legislative and electoral, etc. This understanding echoes the submission made by the American Professors Acemoglu and Robinson in their iconic book, Why Nations Fail – to the effect that economic systems and institutions thrive best (and prosperity is more rapid and widespread) under a certain set of political systems and institutions. The key attribute of these systems and institutions, say the two authors, is that they are INCLUSIVE.

In specific terms, say the observers of the Nigerian enterprise, there has to be a DEVOLUTION of powers from the central authority in Abuja to the subnational entities that constitute the nation. The President’s recent actions attest to his belief in the efficacy of this principle. It is now up to state and local governments across the country to rise up to the challenge.

True, Nigeria is far from where it ought to be. But under President Bola Tinubu, it sure looks headed in the right direction. The upticks in the country’s GDP, balance of trade and foreign reserves may be slight and almost imperceptible, but they are real nonetheless. With the patience, understanding and (most importantly) cooperation of all stakeholders – individual, corporate and geopolitical alike – Nigeria, under this President, looks set not only to turn the corner on her way to full economic recovery, but to lay the building-blocks for sustainable development and lasting prosperity for her people.