With TONY OKOROJI
In a few days, it will be May 29, 2024, the one-year anniversary of the Tinubu Administration. I am sure there will be speeches in Abuja to remind Nigerians of the ‘great’ deeds of the government, in one year. I am also sure that somebody has already coordinated colorful congratulatory messages that will appear in newspapers across the land telling the President what a great leader he has been to all of us in just one year and what a great job he has done!
I expect to see a big documentary on TV reminding us how our lives have become much better as a result of the good works of Mr. President. Trust our professional propagandists. They will be let loose spinning every spinnable and there might even be a big party for the party men. Please, don’t be surprised to see my great friend, brother and colleague, the one and only King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, the immensely talented KWAM 1, on stage, dishing out his stuff. Nigerians like to party and who is better at lubricating a good party than KWAM 1?
One big question: Will Nigerians be celebrating with Tinubu on May 29, 2024?
What exactly will Nigerians be celebrating about? If the truth must be told, just a few words spoken by Present Tinubu in Abuja at his inauguration on May 29, 2023, has put the Nigeran nation in a tailspin and enclosed Nigerians in a pressure cooker. It has messed up what was already a bad situation left by Buhari.
Nigeria has been removing subsidy on petroleum products for as long as I can remember. However, the sudden announcement of fuel subsidy removal on May 29, 2023 and the way it was handled, left many Nigerians stunned and bewildered. Whether you are a friend of the present regime or a foe, it is stark reality that those few words spoken by Tinubu in Abuja on May 29, 2023 has led to an economic spiral with manifold social consequences across Nigeria that our citizens will not forget in a long time.
I have watched Lagos where I live, as transport fares suddenly shot up, market women tripled their prices, tension mounted and the blood pressure of many went crazy. In a few days, things had fallen apart and the center could no longer hold. Lagos in June 2023 became Biafra of January 1970. Disbelieving and traumatized people just trekked and trekked like zombies, sometimes not knowing where exactly they were going.
Of course, I agree that the concept of the official exchange rate (the CBN rate) is one of the biggest scams in Nigerian history. There are Nigerians that have made obscene amounts of money by just sitting in their luxury suites, making phone calls, getting dollars at the CBN rate and selling the dollars to Mallams at the black market.
I also agree that something has to give in Nigeria to get the nation working again but the dual effect of the petroleum subsidy removal and the new exchange rate policy, all at the same time has been too much for the people to handle. The sickness in Nigeria is bad but the Tinubu medication has been worse.
Of course, the people can see the rapid drop in the value of the naira which has led us to the Zimbabwe kind of hyperinflation. Every part of the system is imposing new levies and fees on Nigerians because they have to find the naira to buy the very expensive foreign exchange. You can see the crazy new electricity charges by NERC, the Cyber security levy from CBN, the e-tag from FAAN and so many more. Just try to buy anything of value in Nigeria today and you are told that the price is for that moment. Come back in a few hours and the price would have changed significantly.
Take it from me, the resultant recurring decimal of hardship and what is seen as the violent and uncaring actions of the government, resulting in the degradation of the quality of lives of Nigerians have taken a toll on our people. Nigerians don’t trust anyone anymore. Many do not see the government as their friend but an adversary of the people.
Why were these policies so quickly announced at a time when there was really no government in place? There was no cabinet to think through the policies, no prior sensitization of the citizens had taken place and no ministers were in office to manage the fall outs from the policies?
Please, don’t tell me that it was planned to be like this. Don’t tell me that it was anticipated that the CBN governor would be having so much sleepless nights chasing after the foreign exchange rate that is running faster than Usain Bolt. Don’t tell me that it was anticipated that I will now be spending a significant percentage of my income just to pay for electricity in the era of ‘Band A’. Don’t tell me that it was planned that a time will come when the entire one day salary of a Nigerian worker cannot buy a decent loaf of bread.
Please don’t tell me that everything is working well.
Back to my question: Will Nigerians be celebrating with Tinubu on May 29, 2024?
See you next week.
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