•Even the blind can see positive results of president’s reforms -Arewa Think Tank • Masses suffering under his reforms – Ijaw National Congress, Ohaneze, ACF
By Seye Ojo, (Lagos) Femi Folaranmi (Yenagoa), Noah Ebije (Kaduna), Stanley Uzoaru (Owerri), Ighomuaye Lucky (Benin)
Reactions have continued to trail President Bola Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech in which he claimed that economic reforms introduced by his two-year-old administration are yielding results while inflation is easing, among others.
While speaking to the current security challenges in the country, the president also said that the nation’s highways have become safer. But in reaction to the appraisals made by the president, some regional and civil society groups have disagreed with him, pointing out that his claims are at variance with current realities.
On the contrary, a northern group aligns with the president, affirming that his administration has done well.
President not in touch with reality – Ijaw National Congress
The President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof. Benjamin Okaba, has taken a swipe at President Bola Tinubu over claims that there is progress in the economy and security in the country.
According to Okaba, Tinubu is not in touch with reality, and he needs to jettison intermediaries feeding him lies and ascertain the state of affairs by himself.
His words: “The president’s claims are mere rhetoric. The situation is that there is still hardship in this country compared with 10 to 15 years ago. Inflation is still very high. When we talk about inflation, we talk about the cost of living, the cost of basic items.
“A cup of garri used to be ₦15, it is ₦300 today. A bag of rice used to cost ₦40,000 to ₦70,000; today, you need to have ₦100,000 to buy a bag of rice today. The fuel prices are still very high. So, I think he needs to get down to the market himself and not rely on fake, over-bloated statistics presented to him. Let him do an independent survey if he truly wants to address the problems of this country. His intermediaries are not feeding him the right information. And working on those fake statistics would not help him.
“There is a big gap between what he said and what is really on the ground, which is very wrong for development. If not, he would not say that the highways are safe. We have issues with kidnapping daily. Look at the Abraka situation that was reported recently. Let him have a proper and accurate intelligence report. Working on misinformation will not matter. As a leader, he should know the truth and work on the truth.”
Nigerians yet to feel positive impact of reform -Ohanaeze
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide disagreed with President Bola Tinubu on the claims that his economic reforms are yielding results. National Publicity Secretary of the organisation, Dr. Ezechi Chukwu reacting to the president’s claim said the citizens had yet to feel the impact of his reforms.
He, however, reiterated that restructuring of the country will rather address the situation. He said: “Nigerians are still experiencing deep hardship and reforms of the present government have not had any positive impact on the day to day lives of the citizens. Consequently, the government needs to do more to alleviate the poverty in the land.
“It’s when the level of poverty is alleviated; when the purchasing power increases; when the inflation drops; when the rate of dollars reduces; that the economic impact would be positive but so far with these I have mentioned, we can’t say there is any impact made by his reforms.
“The position of Ohanaeze is that to fix the Nigerian economy, to get our social political foundation right, there’s a need for restructuring. When restructuring comes in, there will be fiscal federalism, devolution of powers, resource control, and healthy competition among the federating units.
“This is what Nigeria needs to prevent the economic quagmire the nation finds itself in today, they need to consider how it’s supposed to be restructured in order to give power to the federating units to take care of themselves and optimize the economic situation at their disposal,” Chukwu said.
On insecurity, Chukwu said: “The truth of the matter is that insecurity still pervades on the highways and a lot of communities in different parts of the country have been abandoned.
“The earlier the federal government accepts this bitter truth, the better because the menace of insecurity is degenerating from perennial neurosis to irredeemable psychosis.”
Even the blind can see positive results of Tinubu’s reforms -Arewa Think Tank
A northern group, Arewa Think Tank, agreed with the president’s submission that his economic reforms have started yielding positive results, adding that even the blind could see the results.
Convener of the Think Tank, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu told Saturday Sun that President Tinubu did not need to say it himself because Nigerians are already feeling the positive impact.
“The economic indicators and indices are showing that the economic reforms of President Tinubu are responding to his therapy. I think we should give him some time. We in the Arewa Think Tank believe that President Tinubu is on the right path. All he needs now is just a little time particularly now that we have crossed the corner.
“Although we are not where we want to be, at least a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. We are seeing some positive progressions. In the next one year the positive yields of the economic reforms will be doubled. Like we have been appealing, we are begging Nigerians to give Mr President more time to fix the economy completely. Though we are not where we want to be, we are seeing some signs of the Promised Land.
“Today Nigerian highways are experiencing a notable improvement in security and safety. This positive shift is attributed to increased patrols, particularly by the Nigerian Army and other security agencies, along with the deployment of more personnel and the establishment of rapid-response units. This has led to a decrease in criminal activities and an increase in road users’ confidence, especially those who previously avoided night travel,” Yakubu said.
Masses suffering under his economic reforms –Arewa Consultative Forum
But the Arewa Consultative Forum disagreed. National Publicity Secretary of ACF, Prof Tukur Muhammad-Baba told Saturday Sun that Tinubu was far from telling the reality on ground, pointing out that the masses are suffering under his economic reforms.
“We expected President Tinubu would say so, given his consistent claim that his economic reforms are yielding fruits and so on and so forth. But you see, it is all well and good, he is in government and you expect that he will say so. But then if the economy is improving, how come the ordinary person in Nigeria is not seeing it?
“The real income has dropped drastically. Even when the minimum wage is paid, how much will he get? Education, health, inequality and so have been going down. Our debt burden has been increasing. It was reported that about seven million small and medium scale businesses have closed down. The rate of poverty is more than 50 per cent. That is the people who are living below the poverty line. It is more than 50 per cent of the population.
“And according to the IMF, this is going to rise. Today we have about 130 million Nigerians who are living below the poverty line. It is expected, according to the IMF, that this will rise to about 143 million by the end of this year. So what is the gain? I mean, how does it translate to a better condition of living for the ordinary people? Today more than 50 per cent of our people live in substandard housing or no housing at all. I mean, how can Mr President say so? Well, he said so but it runs counter intuitive to our experience. What matters is what the masses are experiencing. And sure, the masses are experiencing drastic decline in their standard of living.
“What I have just done is just to choose a few areas that matter to the people of Nigeria and that are those things that affect their children, that affect their lives, that affect their ability to feed or not feed, and so on and so forth. Even if the economy is improving, let’s see it in the bottom line. So far it is not the result of the economy that is keeping the people. It is their resilience and submitting to the will of God. But something needs to be done about it,” Prof. Muhammad-Baba said.
Insecurity, cost of living still sources of concern –Yoruba Council of Elders
Secretary-General, Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Chief Oladipo Oyewole, said Tinubu is putting viable economic reforms in place towards revamping the rot that Nigerians have been exposed to.
He noted that Tinubu has been doing very well in steering the ship of the nation well. But he raised the concerns that many Nigerians are still suffering from the current economic realities that are prevalent in day-to-day living.
“Inflation is high, cost of food items are high, cost of transportation is high and regular availability of public power supply remains unabated. Also the YCE is not impressed by the increasing rate of insecurity throughout the country.
“Mr President should give more attention to security of lives and property, which are of high concern and which is the primary duty of the government.”
Oyewole noted that the demand of Nigerians for availability and regular supply of foodstuff could not be “wished away because ‘a hungry man is an angry man’, not to think of millions of people going hungry and angry
“YCE knows that all these things cannot be done overnight but the Federal Government should let the people know that steps are being taken in the right direction in the interest of the people and for the good of all.”
‘Things have become worse’
A former Public Relations Officer of the Edo State Civil Society Organizations, Comrade Osaze Edigin, has declared that things have become worse for Nigerians under President Tinubu’s administration owing to the sharp increase in prices of goods and services. He also said that the people have been facing hardship since the removal of fuel subsidies.
“The surge in foreign exchange rate has been a contributive factor as the country is import dependent.”
He said that with what is being experienced currently, Nigerians wish for better days to come. The human rights activist maintained that there has not been any positive impact felt by the people under the current administration.
On the highway being safe, he said citizens are afraid of traveling from one part of the country to another because of the high level of insecurity. He pointed out that citizens are being kidnapped for ransom on the highway by bandits and kidnappers on a daily basis.
He called on the president to use his remaining two years to focus on policies that will better the lot of the people and reduce their pains.