In the past two weeks or so, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has, in speech and action, shown Nigerians, at least those who have not completely lost hope in his administration, something to cheer about. He is beginning to walk the talk of a man who is genuinely serious about changing the narrative that the country cannot continue to swallow the undisguised insults as the tragic capital of bad governance blessed with the highest gathering of incompetent leadership in the grip of power. For, if we must say the truth, the slow start by the Tinubu administration in the last ten months have raised deeper frustrating questions than soothing answers as regards its policy objectives. Of course, this is not helped by an economy that daily takes staple foods off the tables of the poor and the middle class. We do not need to regurgitate how it all started with the President’s declaration, shortly after taking the oath of office, that the hydra-headed monster called fuel subsidy, which is a euphemism for official larcenies and the callous rape of the national treasury at the highest level, would no longer exist. Commendable as the move was, it became obvious that not much had been put in place to ameliorate the projected spiraling effects of such a bold move. And so, instead of getting plaudits for his first state policy directive, what Tinubu got and still continues to get is a harvest of critical umbrage. And that was not helped by the fact that every average family in the country is now left to devise a means of surviving the hard pummeling by an economy that seems to be in a haste to enter into a recession. It was one hell of a journey for a government whose trajectory into Aso Rock was without its history of bitter struggles with rival politicians baying for its blood while, in words and action, indicating that they who would stop at nothing to pull it down.
Ten months on, can one say the Tinubu government is now getting its mojo? Well, maybe the sparks that we are seeing in the last few weeks are pointers to what is to come. Maybe not. But one thing is clear, the narratives and optics are quite encouraging. We were here when the exchange rate was playing a yoyo game at the detriment of our currency and prices of items became unbearable for many. And we are also here now that the naira is regaining its strength and some form of monetary stability is being firmed up by the Central Bank of Nigeria. But then, the question remains: how would all these sparks impact positively on people’s lives? And that is where the ubiquitous slang called the Nigerian Factor comes in. When prices go up in Nigeria, history has taught us that they hardly come down when every economic indices point to the fact that they should naturally reflect the global practice. That is why, for example, I find it curious that even the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) didn’t waste time in debunking the rumour that it has reduced the prices of petroleum products following the impressive gains the naira has made against the dollar. Why did I find it shocking? It is simply because it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever that agencies of government that are expected to comply with simple economic flows are the ones lagging behind and thereby making it easy for those in the private sector to continue raping the populace in this unregulated mercantilist economy. It is for the same reason that the Nigeria Customs Service would refuse to comply with the CBN’s directive to adjust its charges for cargo clearance at the various ports in accordance with the prevailing exchange rate. Yet, the Customs was more than willing in its haste to increase the same charge some weeks ago. Like a friend of mine who is into the import and export business at the Tin Can Port in Lagos puts it, the impunity with which the NCS ignored the directives of the CBN should be a cause for concern for anyone who has the interest of the Tinubu administration at heart. He said: “The Nigeria Customs Service is still charging us N1405 to a dollar for cargo clearance on a day when the naira has strengthened to less than N1300. They were quick to increase the rates but slow in reducing it. The rate is even higher than that of the black market! When the rate was jumping, they were changing it every day on their site. Now the rate has dropped and, suddenly, they are not effective anymore.”
Why are we always the architects of all the self-inflicted wounds in policy and politics? Do we even know the damage this attitude has on the image of the country and how it trickles down the socio-economic train? If these key agencies cannot adjust to simple stuffs like the ones enunciated above, where would the government have the moral fibre to wield the big stick on the private sector’s mercantilist draining the system? Do we even have an effective price regulatory system in place? It is rather unfortunate that both regulatory agencies and the appendages tend to sleep on their arms in moments of national emergencies. Let me ask, what exactly would the NNPCL have lost if it had adjusted the prices of its products to align with the exchange realities in the last week or so? Rather than inspire the public’s confidence, the statement issued by the oil oligarch and signed by its Chief Communications Officer, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, was verbose on sophistry and dry on pungent information dissemination aside the intensity with which it vehemently deny the rumour of downward price adjustments. The statement reads: “The Company asserts that these reports are false and urges Nigerians to disregard them entirely. NNPC Limited reaffirms its commitment to sustaining the current sufficiency in petroleum products supply across all its retail stations in the country.” As we normally ask in my hood, na dat one we dey talk? Do we then take it to heart that the NNPCL also subscribes wholeheartedly to the maxim out there that whatever goes up in prices in Nigeria hardly comes down? If an oil giant like the NNPCL can engage in a maradonic tactic to shirk this simple responsibility of pandering to the dictates of economic flexibility, where do we then turn to for a reassurance that things can surely turn better without us needing to flex some muscles in a bid to arm twist the government to walk its talk?
Talking about good news coming from the Presidency, I cannot fail to notice that, in line with his promise to revamp the economy for the collective good, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has raised two critical teams with a mandate to monitor and evaluate key economic policies of the government. On the surface, I had assumed that it was one of those needless efforts whereby jobs are just distributed to the boys as part of the largesse of political patronage. But a closer scrutiny shows that, with Tinubu chairing the 31-member Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Olawale Edun, heading the Economic Management Team Emergency Taskforce (EET), Nigerians may be in for a pleasant shocker. This could be indicative of the fact that, after months of peripheral gestures that had yielded little or nothing, Asiwaju Tinubu is now more than determined to sit his bum down and take a firm grip of the nation’s affairs. One can only hope that the President, as an active participant in such teams, is fed with timely reports and accurate information on the progress of the economy. What this means is that rather than being told the pleasurable news that he would want to hear as feedback from his aides, the President should be told the crying truth about the harsh realities out there. For example, the optics may be encouraging signs to those in power. But, down the street, Nigerians are not laughing yet. The suffering still continues as those saddled with the responsibility of providing electricity do nothing other than dishing to the hapless citizens palates of darkness daily! Telling the President the absolute, uncomfortable truth with real data is the only way meaningful success can be recorded and the right adjustments can be carried out in affected areas. Already, the public’s eyes are on the two teams and, sooner rather than later, the activities of the members would be put under the searchlight.
On a good note, let me also acknowledge the maturity and controlled calmness employed by the President in handling the murder of 17 officers of the Nigerian Army in Okuama, Delta State by yet-to-be arrested gun-toting thugs. Nothing could justify the beastly callousness with which these heroes were sent to their early graves and the leadership of the Army is justified in seeking revenge. It is the height of disrespect for anyone to turn the gun against the men and women who had sworn to sacrifice their lives to protect that of the citizens. Personally, I am shocked at the audacity and the brazenness exhibited by those criminals. Be that as it may, kudos must go to the President for avoiding a repeat of the Odi and Zaki Biam bloody massacre in Okuama and the other community in Ohoro forest where six police officers were allegedly ambushed and killed while six other officers remain missing as I write this.
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Sometimes, you wonder how we regress to this level of bestiality where youth that should still be under the tutelage of village elders would be the ones barring arms and killing recklessly. Those living in these communities should thank their stars that a lot of a restraint has been employed by the authorities in handling this matter, despite the unmitigated provocation. That the security agencies affected had maintained discipline and toed the line of the law shouldn’t be taken for granted. The Army and the Police do have the capacity any day to get their own pound of flesh. But without the approval of the Commander-In-Chief in a democratic setting, what could they have done? It takes a lot of discipline to remain calm, cool and collected amid the provocation. The security agencies deserve all the honour and respect.
It is an irony that, in the search for peace in the creeks of Delta State, our gallant officers ended up paying the supreme price in a most despicable manner. And, in spite of the rewards for gallantry as announced by the President and Commander-In-Chief on Wednesday during the heroic burial of the 17 slain solders, it should count for something that the President said the ultimate desire is to ensure that they get justice in accordance with the laws of the land and that the cowards, who perpetrated the act and are now hiding in the creeks, would be fished out to have their days in a court of competent jurisdiction. It is soothing that, aside the national honours bestowed on the fallen soldiers, their families left behind would benefit from the gifts of houses and scholarships to the children. As the nation mourns, we wait for the day when the killers of our brave and courageous officers would be officially sentenced to gnash their teeth in hades! When this is done, maybe the other repugnant irritants toying with the idea of wasting our officers would think twice before embarking on such foolish ventures. Well, that’s my wish anyway. May Nigeria succeed.
