- * Tinubu Assures: 'We've Made Efforts To Revamp The Economy, We Shall Do More For You'
By Desmond Ukandu (General/Politics Editor) and Janet Bassey (Governance Reporter)
In what promised to be a "big show" which transited to "no show", Nigerians from across the socio-political and ethnic divide have taken a swipe at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's national broadcast this Sunday morning on the on-going hunger-driven nationwide protests, claiming that the broadcast was 'empty' on his administration's modalities on how to 'Renew Hope' and ultimately pull the economy out of the woods.
The respondents further states, in consensus, that the Nigerian leader rather than announce both short-term, mid-term and long-term far-reaching measures to address the immediate challenges that spurred the 10-day nationwide protests which has brought socio- economic activities in the country to a halt, was issuing threats to the angry youth protesters whose policies of his government have left with no option than to take to the streets.
The respondents expressed deep infuriation, that President Tinubu's administration has progressively been resorting to what one of them described as 'lack of transparent' and 'official but needless strongarm tactics' in the management of the affairs of the country and her people in the past 15 months of coming to power.
Despite President Tinubu's achievements so far listed in his broadcast and the assurances that his regime is trying it's best possible to oxyginate the national economy and bring about prosperity that could renew the hope of disillusioned and hardship ravaged citizens, some of the respondents were of the view that the President need to be serious and truly sincere with his fellow countrymen. They urged him to buckle-up immediately and show responsive leadership and statesmanship.
They equally urged the president to urgently reverse his policy on fuel subsidy withdrawal which has put the economy on a top spin and consequently unleashed mass hunger and severe hardship on the people pending when his administration would have put efficacious measures to alleviate the general economic challenges. Anything short of this approach, they said, would amount to winking in the dark or jogging in the jungle, by his government.
An Abuja based political scientist, Mallam Ibrahim Yau, put the President's speech thus: "It was extremely hollow, dwelt on nothing other than threats against the innocent protesters and on what he called achievements. Much of what he said his government has done are policies, programmes and projects that lack transparency and honesty of purpose. President Tinubu himself knows that his administration has no capacity to make a change for this country. He is not inspiring enough to achieve what he says he wants to achieve. I am sceptical, and it evident in his broadcast speech".
Mallam Yau continued: "In politics and art of governance, a leader must embody public confidence. Do we have that in the case of Tinubu? As a journalist, a news reporter interviewing now, did his speech, this morning, inspire you as a citizen to think twice about further embarking on or encouraging the national protest? Didn't you observe somewhere in that speech where he tried to sectionalise or dismiss the protest as a non-issue, and then went ahead to threaten people with how his government will not sit by and watch the protesters demonstrate? Didn't he demonstrate when he was in the opposition camp? We are waiting for them (government) to do their worst, afterall we all knew how they came to power. We are waiting for him and his soldiers to descend on us in the streets during our protests".
Chief Babafemi Adedoja, a retired civil servant and cement dealer in Kubwa area, Abuja, had this advice for President Tinubu: "My sister, l was expecting to hear some well thought-out palliative measures from the president this morning. I had to delay my church service to listen to it. As far as l am concern, Tinubu said nothing. His broadcast was totally empty on hope, so what hope is he renewing for Nigerians? The man is not serious at all for this job! I personally have no hope that his administration will save the economy of this country, his promises notwithstanding".
Adedoja also stated that, "I see his government as one of those turn-by-turn relay race which General (Ibrahim) Babangida and General Sani Abacha did with Nigeria in the 90s, that eventually forced them out of power, one way or the other. That's exactly what General Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Tinubu did with us in 2023. Remember the 'Emilokan' issue. In Yoruba land where l come from, we like to do things right. We know that the economy of Nigeria has been badly damaged over the years, but Buhari and Tinubu have worsened the situation. We supported APC (ruling All Progressives Congress) because we thought they will be better than the PDP. But here we are with Tinubu and the man is still telling us stories more than one year after.
"I you say you have prepared for this job (President) over the years, then show us the unique formular that you have that makes you most qualified and most prepared and capable. It is so annoying to see his aides and ministers talk a lot of nonsense as if we are brainless morons! I read the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo on his twitter (X handle) this morning praising the broadcast. It was so cheap and disgusting! Can't he "keep his mouth shut" like other ministers? Sometimes, l tell myself that these guys don't have sense! Honestly! What did we do to attract these kind of people? Who did we offend that God can not forgive us?", Adedoja lamented.
He stated that, "For anyone to think that Keyamo is one of the privileged people in this country to transit from human rights activitism to Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and who, today, stood against all what he had preached about good governance and fought the military against, was the height of hipocricy. Therefore, my advise to President Tinubu is that he should realise that he is not the state, he does not own Nigeria, he is not God, even if the people around him are humouring him with the hailings of jagaban. Let him not be carried away. In a democracy, the ultimate power still belongs to the people, and not to him or to his army and policemen.
"The minimum the citizens expected from Tinubu today is for him to address our hunger and starvation. He and his family are eating free food from the taxes we pay, and he has made enough money, so he won't understand or feel what the citizens are feeling. And his sycophantic aides and officials will never tell him the truth because the national treasury is open for them. I am into cement business since l retired from government job. How many bags of Dangote or Bua Cement have l sold in the past one month? So, as long as the President has ignored the protest by the youths of this country, and was, instead rigmaroling in that broadcast, he has to watch it, else his officials will lead him into fire and abandon him!. Did Keyamo not sing the same praise for Buhari? Has he even called Buhari on phone since the man retired back to Daura? People like him will do the same thing to Tinubu when the times comes!", Adedoja prophesied.
A Chartered Accountant, Obinna Obiekwe, told NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Newspaper Correspondent on Sunday, that the way forward out of the national protest is for President Tinubu to immediately review his fuel subsidy withdrawal policy, roll out good palliatives and put measures in place to mitigate the challenges of inflation on goods and services, high public transportation cost, increase food supply in the system, subsidize public health care, and find creative and sustainable ways to bring down the dollar to naira exchange rate regime, and declare total war against corruption in the system. Look at what they have provided in the 2024 national budget, the critical sectors of the country that they would have voted reasonable sums of money to were carelessly sidelined, and instead, incredible sums of budgetary funds were deployed to purchase of new luxury presidential aircraft, yatch, constituency votes, etc. For a government that has been telling the people to tighten their belts, why are they not doing same?
Obiekwe however lashed out: "And so sorry to say, the problem is that you guys in the media have also not been fair to the people of this country in living up to your professional mandate of holding this government to account. You all seem to have been silenced under this government. I don't know why. What is happening? Our public intellectuals, political jobbers, aides and public office holders are another disaster that have terribly afflicted this country. True! Nobody is speaking for the masses of this country any more. There's hunger, hopelessness, starvation and death everywhere. Where is the hope President Tinubu said he wants to renew?"
An exasperated Obiekwe reasoned that, "An important event like a presidential broadcast to the nation in a season when the people are down and the economy in crisis, and the citizens are angry on the streets, was a good opportunity for President Tinubu to show fatherly and presidentiall empathy to the people, and announce far-reaching measures to pacify the nation and arrest the on-going protests. But what did he do? He was busy threating the youth protesters, reminding us that he is president; telling us the things he is doing, which, of course, seem not to have the prospect of putting the economy back on track. When l look at his policies and programmes, l see no future, l see no capacity, for us at all as a people. They're just wasting our time, hoping to continue to do so for the next eight years, at least".
Obiekwe counselled the president thus: "l will advise President Bola Tinubu to go back to history, to March 1989 SAP (Structural Adjustments Programme) Riots during the General Ibrahim Babangida's military era and the EndSars protest of October 2020 of the Buhari administration, and learn how to respond to hunger and frustration-inspired public protests. At least, Mr President was living in this country in those two emergency occasions. Babangida's government was a military era o, yet the man panicked and responded with citizen-centered palliatives like Federal Mass Transit Buses to intervene in public transportation that was so difficult and expensive then as it is worse now.
"General Babangida also set up what he called the People's Bank Chaired then by radical human rights activist, Dr Tai Solarin and managed by Mrs Maria Sokenu. There were so many other interventions then which helped to douse public anger. In the EndSars case, Buhari didn't threaten anybody. He truly sympathised with the youths and acceded to their demands, including other measures he had announced. These are Military officers o! But in Tinubu's case, we didn't see that in his broadcast this morning. We were utterly disappointed!
Obiekwe added that, "What is even disturbing is fact that there are some of Tinubu's aides today who were vocal critics of the military in the media. They also were critical of the previous governments who came to power in this democracy. What happened to their voices now? Should we take it that they weren't genuine, that were impostors? They owe us (the people) explanation what actually happened to them midway, because truth is that the government we have today is certainly not any better than the governments these individuals criticised in the press", Obiekwe insists.
However, Nigeria's Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, SAN, said President Tinubu's speech was a "Great and inspiring speech". Keyamo twitted in his verified official X handle, that Mr. President's broadcast was "Compassionate, yet firm; conciliatory, yet not condescending; resolute on our objectives, yet reassuring. Wonderful balance", he capped off.
To ARISE NEWS TV controversial programme anchorman, Rufai Oseni, the presidential broadcast, he wrote on his X (twitter) handle this morning, should have been more committal rather than dishing out a reharsh of what another respondent had described as "hackneyed achievements that leads the nation to nowhere".
Oseni twitted that "What president Tinubu should have said, was that "I am committed to cutting the cost of governance and I will reduce ministers; I will push for electoral reforms; I will be honest about subsidy regime; I will reduce crude oil theft; I will cut the running cost in the presidency; I will bring about judicial reforms; I will improve the security situation with practical steps; I will cultivate more food and practical steps; I will improve National health insurance coverage".
Oseni however charged the President: "You can add to it".
Below, is the detailed text of the Presidential broadcast:
"BROADCAST BY HIS EXCELLENCY BOLA AHMED TINUBU, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON THE NATIONWIDE PROTEST SUNDAY 4TH AUGUST 2024
My fellow Nigerians,
"I speak to you today with a heavy heart and a sense of responsibility, aware of the turmoil and violent protests unleashed in some of our states.
Notably among the protesters were young Nigerians who desired a better and more progressive country where their dreams, hopes, and personal aspirations would be fulfilled.
"I am especially pained by the loss of lives in Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna and other states, the destruction of public facilities in some states, and the wanton looting of supermarkets and shops, contrary to the promise of protest organisers that the protest would be peaceful across the country. The destruction of properties sets us back as a nation, as scarce resources will be again used to restore them.
I commiserate with the families and relations of those who have died in the protests. We must stop further bloodshed, violence and destruction.
As President of this country, I must ensure public order. In line with my constitutional oath to protect the lives and property of every citizen, our government will not stand idly by and allow a few with a clear political agenda to tear this nation apart.
Under the circumstances, I hereby enjoin protesters and the organisers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue, which I have always acceded to at the slightest opportunity. Nigeria requires all hands on deck and needs us all - regardless of age, party, tribe, religion or other divides, to work together in reshaping our destiny as a nation. To those who have taken undue advantage of this situation to threaten any section of this country, be warned: The law will catch up with you. There is no place for ethnic bigotry or such threats in the Nigeria we seek to build.
Our democracy progresses when the constitutional rights of every Nigerian are respected and protected. Our law enforcement agencies should continue to ensure the full protection of lives and properties of innocent citizens in a responsible manner.
My vision for our country is one of a just and prosperous nation where each person may enjoy the peace, freedom, and meaningful livelihood that only democratic good governance can provide – one that is open, transparent and accountable to the Nigerian people.
For decades, our economy has remained anemic and taken a dip because of many misalignments that have stunted our growth. Just over a year ago, our dear country, Nigeria, reached a point where we couldn’t afford to continue the use oftemporary solutions to solve long-term problems for the sake of now and our unborn generations. I therefore took the painful yet necessary decision to remove fuel subsidies and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress.
These actions blocked the greed and the profits that smugglers and rent-seekers made. They also blocked the undue subsidies we had extended to our neighbouring countries to the detriment of our people, rendering our economy prostrate. These decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well. Yes, I agree, the buck stops on my table. But I can assure you that I am fully focused on delivering good governance to the people.
In the past 14 months, our government has made significant strides in rebuilding the foundation of our economy to carry us into a future of plenty and abundance. On the fiscal side, aggregate government revenues have more than doubled, hitting over 9.1 trillion Naira in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023, due to our efforts at blocking leakages, introducing automation, and mobilising funding creatively without additional burden on the people. Productivity is gradually increasing in the non-oil sector, reaching new levels and taking advantage of the opportunities in the current economic ambience.
My dear brothers and sisters, we have come this far. Coming from a place where our country spent 97% of all our revenue on debt service; we have been able to reduce that to 68% in the last 13 months. We have also cleared legitimate outstanding foreign exchange obligations of about $5billion without any adverse impact on our programmes.
This has given us more financial freedom and the room to spend more money on you, our citizens, to fund essential social services like education and healthcare. It has also led to our state and Local Governments receiving the highest allocations ever in our country’s history from the Federation Account.
We have also embarked on major infrastructure projects across the country. We are working to complete inherited projects critical to our economic prosperity, including roads, bridges, railways, power, and oil and gas developments. Notably, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Highway projects will open up 16 connecting states, creating thousands of jobs and boosting economic output through trade, tourism and cultural integration.
Our once-declining oil and gas industry is experiencing a resurgence on the back of the reforms I announced in May 2024 to address the gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act. Last month, we increased our oil production to 1.61million barrels per day, and our gas assets are receiving the attention they deserve. Investors are coming back, and we have already seen two Foreign Direct Investments signed of over half a billion dollars since then.
Fellow Nigerians, we are a country blessed with both oil and gas resources, but we met a country that had been dependent solely on oil-based petrol, neglecting its gas resources to power the economy. We were also using our hard-earned foreign exchange to pay for, and subsidise its use. To address this, we immediately launched our Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (CNG) to power our transportation economy and bring costs down. This will save over two trillion Naira a month, being used to import PMS and AGO and free up our resources for more investment in healthcare and education.
To this end, we will be distributing a million kits of extremely low or no cost to commercial vehicles that transport people and goods and who currently consume 80% of the imported PMS and AGO.
We have started the distribution of conversion kits and setting up of conversion centres across the country in conjunction with the private sector. We believe that this CNG initiative will reduce transportation costs by approximately 60 percent and help to curb inflation.
Our administration has shown its commitment to the youth by setting up the student loan scheme. To date, 45.6billion Naira has already been processed for payment to students and their respective institutions
I encourage more of our vibrant youth population to take advantage of this opportunity. We established the Consumer Credit Corporation with over N200billion to help Nigerians to acquire essential products without the need for immediate cash payments, making life easier for millions of households. This will consequently reduce corruption and eliminate cash and opaque transactions. This week, I ordered the release of an additional N50billion Naira each for NELFUND – the student loan, and Credit Corporation from the proceeds of crime recovered by the EFCC.
Additionally, we have secured $620million under the Digital and Creative Enterprises (IDiCE) – a programme to empower our young people, creating millions of IT and technical jobs that will make them globally competitive. These programmes include the 3Million Technical Talents scheme. Unfortunately, one of the digital centres was vandalised during the protests in Kano. What a shame!
In addition, we have introduced the Skill-Up Artisans Programme (SUPA); the Nigerian Youth Academy (NIYA); and the National Youth Talent Export Programme (NATEP).
Also, more than N570 billion has been released to the 36 states to expand livelihood support to their citizens, while 600,000 nano-businesses have benefitted from our nano-grants. An additional 400,000 more nano-businesses are expected to benefit.
Furthermore, 75,000 beneficiaries have been processed to receive our N1million million micro and small-business single-digit interest loans, starting this month. We have also built 10 MSME hubs within the past year, created 240,000 jobs through them and 5 more hubs are in progress, which will be ready by October this year.
Payments of N1 billion each are also being made to large manufacturers under our single-digit loans to boost manufacturing output and stimulate growth.
I signed the National Minimum Wage into law last week, and the lowest-earning workers will now earn at least N70,000 a month.
Six months ago in Karsana, Abuja, I inaugurated the first phase of our ambitious housing initiative, the Renewed Hope City and Estate. This project is the first of six we have planned across the nation's geopolitical zones. Each of these cities will include a minimum of 1,000 housing units, with Karsana itself set to deliver 3,212 units
In addition to these city projects, we are also launching the Renewed Hope Estates in every state, each comprising 500 housing units. Our goal is to complete a total of 100,000 housing units over the next three years. This initiative is not only about providing homes but also about creating thousands of jobs across the nation as well as stimulating economic growth.
We are providing incentives to farmers to increase food production at affordable prices. I have directed that tariffs and other import duties should be removed on rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, drugs, and other pharmaceutical and medical supplies for the next 6 months, in the first instance, to help drive down the prices.
I have been meeting with our Governors and key Ministers to accelerate food production. We have distributed fertilisers. Our target is to cultivate more than 10 million hectares of land to grow what we eat. The Federal Government will provide all necessary incentives for this initiative, whilst the states provide the land, which will put millions of our people to work and further increase food production. In the past few months, we have also ordered mechanized farming equipment such as tractors and planters, worth billions of Naira from the United States, Belarus, and Brazil. I can confirm to you that the equipment is on the way.
My dear Nigerians, especially our youth, I have heard you loud and clear. I understand the pain and frustration that drive these protests, and I want to assure you that our government is committed to listening and addressing the concerns of our citizens.
But we must not let violence and destruction tear our nation apart. We must work together to build a brighter future, where every Nigerian can live with dignity and prosperity.
The task before us is a collective one, and I am leading the charge as your president. A lot of work has gone into stabilising our economy and I must stay focused on ensuring that the benefits reach every single Nigerian as promised.
My administration is working very hard to improve and expand our national infrastructure and create more opportunities for our young people.
Let nobody misinform and mis-educate you about your country or tell you that your government does not care about you. Although there have been many dashed hopes in the past, we are in a new era of Renewed Hope. We are working hard for you, and the results will soon be visible and concrete for everyone to see, feel, and enjoy.
Let us work together to build a brighter future for ourselves and for generations to come. Let us choose hope over fear, unity over division, and progress over stagnation. The economy is recovering; Please, don’t shut out its oxygen. Now that we have been enjoying democratic governance for 25 years, do not let the enemies of democracy use you to promote an unconstitutional agenda that will set us back on our democratic journey. FORWARD EVER, BACKWARD NEVER!
In conclusion, security operatives should continue to maintain peace, law, and order in our country by following the necessary conventions on human rights, to which Nigeria is a signatory. The safety and security of all Nigerians are paramount.
Thank God and thank you for your attention, and may God continue to bless our great nation. Thank you very much. NNL.
