In a few days time, the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will mark its one year in office. As it is customary in every administration in the country, one year in office is a period of stocktaking and a reappraisal of where the administration is, where it should be and how to get there. One year in office has become significant in assessing an administration’s bearing and public expectations of it. Agreed that one year may not enough for an administration to achieve much in a highly mismanaged and battered economy like ours, it is enough to make a preliminary assessment of the administration.
Before President Tinubu assumed power on May 29, 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari had mismanaged the economy. This will be borne in mind in assessing this government. Therefore, such assessment will point out what the government has done right, what it didn’t quite get right and suggestions for the way forward. No doubt, Tinubu’s one year in office will attract diverse assessment depending from which angle the assessment is coming from. Such assessments may likely come from three groups or schools of though. One will definitely come from those who ardently support the government and praise it at every point in time no matter what it does. This group belongs to Tinubu’s political camp and admirers of the party in power.
The second assessment will come from the opposition camp, which will not see anything good in the administration, even if the things it has done well. Both the first and second groups of critics lack objectivity and therefore should not be taken so seriously. The third assessment will come from a group of conscientious observes of the political developments in the country and those who will make an objective assessment of the government by apportioning blame where necessary and also applauding where it is due. Those in this group are apolitical and non-partisan in their assessment in their fair assessment of the government.
These are the various assessments the Tinubu administration will be saddled with in the next few days. He should look at all of them dispassionately and take some nuggets and leave those that are there for the sake of criticism. It is not hidden that Tinubu’s predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari mismanaged both the economy and our diversity. His government borrowed so much that whatever Nigeria earned was almost used in debt servicing. Buhari borrowed so much from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Ways & Means vehicle. The economy was already heading south when Tinubu assumed office. It will require only a miracle worker or even a magician to quickly fix the battered economy in just one year.
The issue of what to do with the corrupt fuel subsidy has been on the front burner of national discourse ever before Tinubu came to power. It is only a matter of time and who will take the bull by the horns. It is worth recalling that all the leading presidential candidates during the 2023 election promised that they would remove fuel subsidy. Maybe the methodology would have differed from one person to the other. The fact remains that they will do away with the corrupt subsidy regime. And if they do so, Nigerians will still live with effects.
Before leaving office, Buhari did not vote any money to fund fuel subsidy. Even the dual exchange rate was a strain on the economy with foreign airlines being owed billions of dollars they want to repatriate home. Good enough, the Tinubu administration has paid some of these monies to the airlines. In keeping with his promise to remove fuel subsidy, Tinubu kept to his words and removed it during his inauguration. Many critics believed that the decision was hasty and did not factor the provision of adequate buffers to withstand the ripple effects of the petrol subsidy removal.
The critics were right. But a tough decision must be taken to save the economy from total collapse. Another tough decision of the government was the unification of the foreign exchange markets, which led to the devaluation of the naira. This one, which combined with the first led to rising cost of living, also attracted criticisms from Nigerians. The critics may also be right. The government was not insensitive to the hardship the masses were suffering and came up with some palliatives to cushion the effects of petrol subsidy removal and the unification of the forex market. When Nigerians criticized the cybersecurity levy, the government quickly suspended it. Governing a complex country like Nigeria may be daunting at times. Any other leader would have faced the same problems confronting us today without making any much difference.
Before the government came to power, the security situation in the country was so bad with killings, kidnapping and abductions by bandits on the rise. The security situation now is quite under control even though there is more work to be done. The government is doing much to keep Nigeria safe despite the security challenges. Some areas controlled by gunmen have been liberated. There are ongoing reported efforts to do more. The rescue of schoolchildren in Kuriga, Kaduna State, without ransom is an indication that the government has demonstrated more seriousness in the fight against insecurity.
On university education, this administration has paid about four months of salary arrears owed university teachers following their eight months strike. There is strong indication that the remaining four months’ salary arrears will soon be paid. Besides, the government increased the salary of university teachers by between 25% and 35 %. The government is making some progress in diplomatic circles by reaching trade agreements with so many countries. He should address the issue raised by ASUU over absence of governing councils in the universities and others to avert the brewing strike in the Ivory Towers. The war against corruption is ongoing despite some operational hiccups which will soon be addressed.
The social investment programme of the government meant to tackle poverty is still on but needs to be totally overhauled and be made inclusive. The government is making progress in road infrastructure across the country. Apart from the Lagos-Calabar highway, the government has announced to commit N546 billion for roads in Lagos, Kwara, Edo, Kebbi and Sokoto states. The government has also approved a special purpose vehicle to deliver an additional 90,000km of fibre optic cable for universal access to the internet across the country. The government will deploy 530 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses across the country for ease of transportation.
To enhance ease of doing business, the government is planning to provide 48-hour visa service for investors. It is also making arrangement to procure N4.2 billion aircraft recovery equipment for the aviation sector. The government will also provide about N20trillion pension fund for development of the housing sector. Nigeria’s housing deficit is put at about 28 million units. In There Was A Country, Chinua Achebe admonished that “building a nation is not something a people does in one regime, or even in a few years; it’s a very long process.” There is no doubt whatsoever that ours has taken a long time; we shall get there one day. Rebuilding a damaged economy will take time. The government has taken the first one year to lay the foundation for growth and development. More will be expected in the next three years.