By Suleiman Umaru And Lateef Adegbite
When former President Muhammadu Buhari, declared prior to the February 25, 2023, Presidential and National Assembly elections that Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who incidentally was a former governor of Lagos state would perform very well in office, not many people took him seriously. This is because nothing has come out of his eight years in office but and therefore, not in a position to determine whether Tinubu would do well in office or not.
Although, the former Lagos state governor had repeatedly assured Nigerians that he was well prepared to rule the country but that was how far he could go. He had promised’’ to establish organic link between national security and economic development with regional peace’’, which appeared to have remained elusive over the last five months, thus making matters worse for the country.
The Nigerian President may have sent a message to the people that he has come to increase their suffering with the removal of subsidy on petrol, which the former President had prepared the ground to remove but failed to do so, leaving Tinubu, his successor to do it.
The Nigerian President may have gone a step further to urge Nigerian Nigerians to tighten up their belt when he unified the official and parallel, popular, black market, foreign exchange rates. The situation appear so worrisome that the prices of goods and service ha tripled, forcing the likes of Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state, and the Labour Party, LP, Presidential in the 2023, general elections to declare that the North American country of the United States dollar has become the country’s underground currency.
The former LP, Presidential Candidate, who had dragged Tinubu, to the Supreme Court to Challenge his victory had said that he has put the Local currency under intense pressure following increased demand or dollars amid the dollar shortage in the country occasioned by ‘’low inflows from oil receipts and foreign capital. The increased demand on the US, dollar, was said to have pushed the naira to as low as N1,310 on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 but slipped back to N1,300.00 to the dollar, on Wednesday, October 25, 2023.
He had said that the Nigerian government can still stabilise the naira ‘’ if it can secure the country and block all oil leakages’’. Tinubu, who close Associates had said had good intention to revive the economy of the country may have put together a formidable economic Team comprising of Wale Edun, who had served as the Commissioner of Finance, when he was the governor of Lagos state, and now minister of Finance and Coordinating minister of the economy, Atiku Bagudu, a former governor of Kebbi state and now minister of Budget and national planning, Doris Anite, minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Abubakar Kyari, minister of Agriculture and Food Security, and minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris.
Others in the Tinubu’s economic Management Team includes Michael Cardoso, who had served in the Administration as the Commissioner of Physical Planning and Budget and Head of the Citibank in Nigeria and now the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Tope Fasua, Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Director General, Budget office, Ben Akubueze, Director General of Debt Management Office , DMO, Ms. Patience Oniha and Director General, National Bureau of Statics, NBS, Semiu Adeyemi .
Despite setting up a formidable economic Management Team, by the former Lagos state governor, the country’s economy is still wobbling that Nigerians are crying over the worrying hardship.
Tinubu who could no longer hide his feelings had admitted that ‘’Nigerians are enmeshed in economic pains as a result of the oil subsidy removal and unification of the official and parallel foreign exchange rates, which analysts had said affected every sector of the economy. Describing the situation as’’ a challenging journey’’, the Nigerian President had said that ‘’Nigerians can still navigate these difficulties and emerge stronger as a nation’’.
Recall that he had said that ‘’it is through resilience and cooperation that Nigerians can shape can shape a better future for themselves and generations to come but Nigerians appear to be tired of these old songs. The Leadership of the of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF, which had succeeded in getting the Tinubu’s government to adopt the two harsh economic policies which was rejected by the erstwhile Buhari’s Administration may have known that the Nigerian economy is trouble that they have given Tinubu a soft Landing to borrow a zero- interest loan of $3.45 billion with a 10 years moratorium, meaning that the repayment would start in 2033.
This may have informed why Cardaso, the CBN, governor could beat his chest that in the next couple of weeks, the current shortage of the US dollar being witnessed in the country would be a thing of the past. The Nigerian President who not have paid much attention to the revival of the economy over the last three months because of the cases instituted against him by Atiku Abubakar, a former Nigerian Vice President and former Presidential Candidate of the Opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and Obi of the LP, can now heave a sigh of relief to concentrate on governance.
The seven -man Judicial panel set up by Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the Chief Justice of the Federation, may have given Tinubu, a cause to celebrate and put smiles on the faces of Nigerians who are grumbling over the hardship in the country as it had ruled that ‘’the claims of fraud, electoral law violations and the APC’S Candidate ineligibility to run for the office of the Nigerian President lack merit’’.
‘’Having resolved all the issues against the appellant, it is my view that there is no merit in the appeal and it is hereby dismissed’’, Justice Inyang Okoro, had said. Tinubu may have taken advantage of the Supreme Court victory to reassure Nigerians of his determination to rebuild the nation. Hear him: It is time to build our great nation together. ‘’I will continue to work from morning to night on a daily basis, to build a country that meets our collective yearnings and aspirations’’, he had reassured Nigerians.
He may have gladdened the heart of Nigerians when he disclosed that that ‘’in the days and months ahead, the Administration will improve the living conditions of Nigerians ‘’ which is currently at lowest ebb. This may have informed why had said that he is prepared ‘’to welcome the contributions of Nigerians including the Opposition parties to foster and strengthen the country’s collective progress’’.
