Amid the hardship in the country, President Bola Tinubu assured the country that 2024 would be better for Nigerians. In his New Year address to the nation, the President raised key issues, which revolve mainly around the economy, including foreign investment, inflation and hunger. He had listed his priority areas to include national defence and internal security, job creation, macro-economic stability, investment environment optimization, human capital development, poverty reduction and social security.
The President also noted the importance of stable electricity in a developing economy, saying no meaningful economic transformation could happen without steady electricity supply. According to him, last December, during COP28 in Dubai, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and he agreed and committed to a new deal to speed up the delivery of the Siemens Energy power project that would ultimately deliver reliable supply of electricity to our homes and businesses under the Presidential Power Initiative, which began in 2018. He added that other power installation projects to strengthen the reliability of transmission lines and optimize the integrity of our national grid were ongoing across the country.
We commend the President for this initiative. Electricity is the engine of industrialization. Small and medium-scale enterprises cannot thrive without it. What companies spend on diesel to power their machines is enormous and this translates to high cost of goods and services. If the President could realize the electricity projects as he enunciated, there is no doubt that it will catapult the economy of the country.
Tinubu also harped on our local refineries. Oil is the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy, but we have not utilized that resource well. We have four refineries but they are not working. We import refined oil, which is why the price of fuel is high here. With the removal of fuel subsidy, the price jumped to an astronomical level. Nevertheless, the President promised the resumption of production at the local refineries, starting with the Port Harcourt Refinery and Dangote Refinery. This is a step in the right direction.
One major issue the present government should look into is tackling hunger and poverty in the country. Over 133 million Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor. Insecurity in different parts of the country has worsened food scarcity, leading to high cost of essential food items. Realizing this problem, the President promised to step up his administration’s plan to cultivate 500,000 hectares of farmlands across the country to grow maize, rice, wheat, millet and other staple crops. He added that under the National Wheat Development Programme, his administration launched dry season farming with 120,000 hectares of land in Jigawa State last November.
It is obvious that we need massive investment in the agriculture sector. But criticisms had trailed the President’s frequent travels to foreign countries in the name of looking for investors. We had warned that investors would not come with the current state of security and some impediments to the ease of doing business in the country. Tinubu promised that his administration would remove the barriers potential investors face, assuring them that Nigeria was open and ready for business.
We can only advise that the government should go beyond speeches and embark on concrete actions to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians. Inflation is eating deep into the pockets of the citizens. At N30,000 a month, the minimum wage is grossly inadequate and cannot provide the basic needs of workers. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has been clamouring for a reasonable increase in the minimum wage. The government should oblige them and give them a living wage.
Despite the assurances of the President, the opposition parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party, described his speech as deceitful and empty. According to them, the President failed to address critical issues of insecurity, decayed infrastructure, massive profligacy, insensitivity, incompetence, alleged treasury looting, comatose manufacturing and productive sectors. “More distressing is that President Tinubu had no words in his New Year address for the Christmas eve genocidal massacre of over 200 Nigerians by terrorists in Plateau State,” the PDP regretted.
No doubt, citizens of Bokkos and Barkin Ladi local government areas of Plateau State will not forget their plight in a hurry. On December 23, 2023, some terrorists believed to be Fulani herdsmen invaded some communities in these two local government areas. The attacks continued the following day and even on Christmas day. They not only killed over 160 people, they wounded over 300 and burnt down over 200 houses. Tinubu should consider decentralization of our security architecture to ensure a more effective policing of the country.
In all, we note that the tough economic measures being embarked upon today may lead to a prosperous tomorrow. But government functionaries should show in words and deeds that they are serious about revamping the economy. The economy cannot be revamped when there is acute wastage of resources as has been witnessed in the few months of this administration. Our past experiences cast some doubts on the realization of the lofty programmes of the government. We are not short of good programmes and promises. Implementation has always been the problem. Tinubu should break that jinx this time. He should walk his talk.