For decades, the elite have held Nigeria down and sabotaged every reform effort. It is to their credit that the poor in the country are going through the worst moment of their lives. Among the downtrodden, things have fallen apart and it has become increasingly difficult for the poor to earn a living. Every right-thinking Nigerian, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, agrees that it is time the poor breathed.
For the poor to breathe, the loopholes through which the elite drain the country’s blood must be plugged. The breathing lungs of many poor Nigerians have either been mutated or blocked. Many have died needlessly while millions are walking corpses. It was a soothing feeling when President Tinubu on May 25 at his investiture as GCFR screamed “Let the poor breathe”. It was a word in season. Now the new president must plug the holes of a sinking boat- it’s a race against time to fix the problems before everyone is dragged down by the overwhelming weight.
For the poor to breathe, the fuel subsidy must go as the president told the nation during his inauguration. The fuel subsidy is the channel through which the corrupt elite enriched themselves, claiming subsidies on products they never supplied, or inflated or directed to neighbouring Benin Republic, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
Beyond stopping the subsidy, the new administration needs to review how the subsidy crippled the nation’s economy in the past decade. We cannot build something on nothing; the government should make efforts at demanding restitution from those who had stolen the nation blind. The nation can bargain returns from those at the epicentre of this scam. They are not ghosts. They have names and addresses. Isa Yuguda, a former two-term Bauchi Governor and cabinet minister, said on Channels TV this week that a friend of his once begged former President Buhari to remove the subsidy because they (the subsidy beneficiaries) were tired of making money.
For the poor to breathe, the cost of governance is crazy. What will Speaker Abass do with 32 aides except he is paying them from his pocket? Why should the president’s convoy have 30 or more vehicles? Why should Nigerian legislators be the highest paid in the world? Why should a minister demand official vehicles from all the parastatals under his ministry? Why should elected officers that served for 4 to 8 years have severance packages that dwarf the retirement benefits of those who worked for 40 years?
For the poor to breathe, as promised by the president, an immediate end must come to the multiple foreign exchange rates. If not all, most banks’ owners and operators in connivance with the top echelons of the Central Bank of Nigeria have been round-tripping the masses by pulling out dollars and other prized foreign currencies at the official rates and selling through proxies at the parallel market. They made themselves and their cronies billionaires at the expense of the poor and the nation. Some recovery efforts should also be made in this regard.
For the poor to breathe, the nation’s power (electricity) architecture needs overhauling. All the big cats that cornered the power distribution businesses (DISCOS) must be held accountable. Their penchant for selling the few thousand megawatts generated by the government at exorbitant tariffs must be stopped. The nation needs serious investors in power generation immediately.
For the poor to breathe, the education system needs surgery. To start this is to make government officials patronise Nigerian schools at least up to the post-primary. The strains to which education tourism subjects the forex demands are huge and progress crippling.
For the poor to breathe, Nigeria’s security situations have to change. Farmlands from Owo to Mubi to Eket to Okigwe have to be safe for the farmers. Kidnappings and banditry have to stop. The anguish and bloodletting unleashed by terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other insurgents are enough. The crises in the Northeast, Northcentral and Southeast have to be tackled headlong. The nation cannot thrive under the prevailing atmosphere. Government must make deliberate efforts at curbing the youth migration to the urban cities through the creation of livable farm settlements and crafts’ facilities across the country, and with functioning social amenities.
For the poor to breathe, the nation’s health system must begin to work. If the president wants, he can build Nigeria’s ‘Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre’ at Abuja or anywhere he chooses. The president and others in the government should be able to access medical treatments locally. This is the only way confidence can be built in the system. We have hundreds of Nigerians abroad accomplishing greatness in the medical fields, a serious government will see to how many of them can return home to help. They sure will when their safety and accessibility to basic amenities are guaranteed.
For the poor to breathe, sports is a youth empowerment tool that must be taken seriously. Building sports infrastructure in every community will go a long way to help young people who have three things in abundance: energy, creativity and restlessness. Sports will help them make constructive use of their exuberance and look away from fraud, betting/gambling and other social ills and crimes that have held our youths by the jugular!
Nigerian youths have huge potential to boost foreign exchange through varieties of sporting activities not limited to football. These young talents can be groomed and exported for fame and fortune. This government must invest in sports. Globally, sports are money spinners. Both for the participants and the government. Nigeria must learn from Saudi Arabia, Qatar etc. Let the government open up the arena and use sports to catch Nigerians at young and tender ages to contribute their quota to national development. A rejuvenated football league in Nigeria can create millions of jobs. Take a cue from the EPL that has become the cynosure of all eyes since it was repackaged in 1993.
In the words of Steve Maraboli, “It’s not about what I SEE for our future, or humanity; It’s about what I DO for our future and humanity.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, posterity has placed in your hands a lifetime opportunity to transform this country. Nigeria is bleeding and most Nigerians are suffocating. Some Nigerians hitherto seen as resilient are currently at their breaking points. You have spoken Mr President. Now you must DO. You must let the poor breathe.
Sunday Odeleke is a commentator based in Texas, US. He tweets from @OdelekeSA.
