By Alex Abutu
Last Monday, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu made a national broadcast where he laid out his plans to tackle the current quagmire that is bedeviling Nigeria as a result of the policies and measures introduced since May 29th, 2023.
While I commend his boldness for taking such a painful decision that is now inflicting unnecessary pains on Nigerians, I beg to differ on his opinion that there is no option to what he has laid on the table.
Mr President, in the broadcast, stated that the policy measures he embarked upon were geared toward combating the serious economic challenges facing the nation.
However, it is important to note that the people need to be alive before economic measures can work for them. In this situation where it’s only plans of what is to come that Nigerians can yet see, the hope of the ordinary man surviving till the manifestation of this plan is akin to a child waiting for an air bubble to become a balloon.
“Our economy is going through a tough patch, and you are being hurt by it. The cost of fuel has gone up. Food and other prices have followed it. Households and businesses struggle. Things seem anxious and uncertain. I understand the hardship you face. I wish there were other ways. But there is not. If there were, I would have taken that route as I came here to help not hurt the people and nation that I love”.
This is an acknowledgement that he is aware his policies are killing us, not allowing us to breathe yet he rolled out only long term plans capable of addressing the pains.
According to him, the Federal Government is working closely with states and local governments to implement interventions that will cushion the pains of our people across socio-economic brackets.
He plans to strengthen the manufacturing sector, increase its capacity to expand and create good paying jobs, hoping to invest N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024 in 75 enterprises with great potential. Another N50 billion on Conditional Grants to 1 million nano businesses between now and March 2024 with the target of giving N50,000 each to 1,300 nano business owners in each of the 774 local governments across the country.
On staple foods available and affordable he will be releasing 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and FCT at moderate prices. 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs to farmers who are committed to our food security agenda.
His plan to support the cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course. N50 billion will be invested in the cultivation of 150,000 hectares of rice and maize, N50 billion each to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.
Baba did not state how he intends to recover, from the elite of the elite, the subsidy looting that has brought the country to its knees. He was still chanting the old song of “as we move to fight the flaws in the economy, the people who grow rich from them, predictably, will fight back through every means necessary.”
Unfortunately, Mr President wants to handover the sufferings of the masses to state governors who hoarded all the Covid-19 palliatives while Nigerians are dying of hunger or can the governors, who are controlling all local government funds and allocation while rendering development at that level of government useless, be capable of solving any problem of the people?
Government is planning to roll out buses across the states and local governments for mass transit at a much more affordable rate when people are already trekking.
The government has no definite plan on salaries and wages yet. In this excerpt from his address, he stated that “We are also working in collaboration with the labour unions to introduce a new national minimum wage for workers. I want to tell our workers this: your salary review is coming”. But when will this come? When will the review start, when will it end, before we talk about making the necessary budgetary provision.
The poor citizens in this country have made a lot of sacrifices. Bearing the burnt suffering for the sins of the elites of the elites. I don’t think introducing all this measures such as increasing salaries among others before embarking on this ruthless policies and action would have provided a soft-landing for the man who is now trekking from Nyanya to the federal secretariat to work for N30,000 per month.