…As protesters seek reversal of controversial reforms
…Experts react
Just over a year in office, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s controversial reforms aimed at turning around Nigeria’s economy is facing increasingly opposition from Nigerians.
Perhaps, the glaring message from protesters in the anti-government nationwide protest tagged #End badgovernanceinNigeria is that the reforms have brought untold hardship and further impoverished them.
Many Nigerians said they had fed up with the hardship in the land, they want a reversal of his reforms and immediate return of petrol subsidy to ease their suffering.
Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, won a controversial presidential election last year. On assumption of office, he announced several reforms aimed at stabilising the economy and putting more money into government purse.
The President announced the removal of petrol subsidy that had been a drain on the nation’s treasury, costing the nation trillion of naira every year.
In the weeks that followed, Nigeria unified the segment of the foreign exchange market into a single window in order to allow the naira trade more freely.
The new policy triggered massive devaluation of the currency.
The measures have also exacerbated a record cost-of living-crisis in the Africa’s most populous nation where inflation is at all-time high, affecting the cost of food items and energy prices.
Nigerians are battling with food inflation at about 50 percent and fuel prices have added more than 500 percent since Tinubu started his reforms last year.
“President Tinubu administration’s reforms, including the removal of fuel and electricity subsidy and the floating of the naira, have had a devastating impact on the Nigerian populace, particularly those on the lower rung of the economy. The problem is that they are all done the same time,” Adelaja Adeoye, an economist and entrepreneur, said.
Adeoye stressed that the suffering in the country was exacerbated because of lack of social welfare system and high unemployment rate.
“The sudden increase in essential commodity prices has led to widespread agitations and a rise in poverty levels and you can’t blame them, because a lot of people are jobless and there is no social welfare,” he said.
In recent months, the worsening economic situation has plummeted the popularity of President Tinubu among the people.
Many Nigerians are alarmed that despite cutting public spending and removing subsidy in electricity and petrol the Tinubu’s administration has not shown enough desire to cut cost of governance and check wastage in government.
At a time the country is ensnared in economic hardship, and the citizenry urged to make more sacrifices and tighten their belt to combat the economic challenges, some of the expenditure and plans of the Federal Government are raising dust in the polity.
Observers say the profligacy seen among public officers and elected officials in the previous administration was still there.
Some months ago, President Tinubu promised to implement the Steve Oronsaye report, aimed at reducing the number of public agencies in a bid to cut cost of governance, but many are baffled that the President has since continued to make indiscriminate appointments into parastatals and agencies of government.
As opposition to the administration reforms and policies grows across Nigeria, analysts said the lack of job creation and human capital development initiatives have left the youth population vulnerable.
They said the ongoing protests were a manifestation of the government’s failure to deliver on its campaign promises, especially in a nation where unemployment is high.
Read also: Tinubu unveils ambitious plans for economy to stem nationwide protest
Many say the failure of the government to implement the palliative programme aimed to cushion the effects of the reforms has had a devastating effect on the people and make living more expensive for Nigerians.
“While I acknowledge that the subsidy regime was marred by irregularities and corruption, the government’s failure to fulfill its promises to cushion the effects of the removal by injecting funds into the real sector of the economy has exacerbated the situation and make suffering more.
“So, on the streets across Nigeria, there is the notion that the Tinubu’s government is not sincere, just about one year in office, many Nigerians appear to have lost hope with the administration already. Of course, such pessimism has fueled the current protest against this government.
“It sad really; what is baffling is that when he releases palliatives, money or food the people who need them don’t see it, it is hijacked by the ruling party and the governors and he does not bother to check how it is shared. Nobody has told us how the N2billion palliatives money was used,” Lawal Muritala, a lawyer, said.
Lawal noted that it was devastating and sad for the Tinubu administration to initiate such far-reaching reforms without any social welfare programme that would have direct impact on the people.
“For now, people are left on their own after initiating the reforms without any support and you expect them to calm down? That is why you are seeing the protest now, people are upset,” he added.
Read also: Fuel subsidy was noose around Nigeria’s neck, removal is for growth – Tinubu
Tunde Daramola, Public Affairs commentator, said the Tinubu administration pushed Nigerians to the wall, when there was no plan to alleviate the suffering of the people from his reforms, noting that it was obvious it was not planned.
According to him, “Nothing is wrong with the introduction of reforms in any country’s economy. What is unacceptable is when nothing is done to alleviate the hardship brought as a result of the reforms. My thoughts are that it was not well-researched and managed.
“The removal of subsidy and floating of the currency will have created an upsurge in income to government, instead of taking care of the executive and legislature, etc, they should have taken care of the populace by multiplying wages and salary. The gain experience will now be loss economically and politically.”
The Tinubu administration has made some pronouncement in recent days to ease the economic pain, including delivering rice to states across the country and removal of tariffs on imported foodstuffs, but many people are not taken the government serious, they said previous palliatives given to governors did not reach them.
“It is like pouring water into a basket, nothing would come out of it,” Shola Ogunwale, a student, said.
The #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest which began last Thursday has spread across Nigeria with many killed and several injured.
However, the demands from various organisers reflect a broad spectrum of issues.
It is clear that their main demand is for the government to tackle the economic hardship and reverse the reforms seen as harsh.
Protesters are calling for the restoration of the fuel subsidy and a reduction in fuel prices to below ₦300 per litre.
They also demand an increase in the national minimum wage to ₦300,000, contrasting with the ₦70,000 recently signed into law by Tinubu.
The protesters are pushing for affordable electricity tariffs and the creation of an emergency fund to support small and medium enterprises, which they see as vital to the nation’s struggling economy.
Additionally, they advocate for a state of emergency on inflation to address the rising costs impacting households across the country.
There have been calls for the reopening of the borders to stimulate trade and prioritise made-in-Nigeria goods to bolster local economy.
Protesters also demand the restoration of previous import duty rates to revive local industries and alleviate financial pressures on consumers.
While the demands are extensive, some critics argue that certain requests are too vague or unachievable.
“The protest is about the bad governance in Nigeria, poor standard of living of our people and high inflation. We are just tired with the state of Nigeria now,” Ismail Olushola Oladare, told Al Jazeera.
Analysts react to criticism of Tinubu’s reforms
Some experts say rather than focusing on just currency reform, the Tinubu administration should have fixed the productive part of the economy, power and roads.
They said these are critical issues that were needed to drive the economy and grow SMEs in the country.
Speaking about the Tinubu reforms so far, Omoruyi Temitope, the Lead Investment Advisor at Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited, a Nigerian capital market holding company with specialised subsidiaries focusing on the unique but integrated wealth management needs of clients in West Africa, said that though the current administration lagged on major economic indicators that mattered to the average Nigerian, there were still hopes that its policies and reforms would deliver the needed impacts in the long term.
“I will look at the performance from two viewpoints for a balanced assessment. On the policy/reforms front, this administration has taken several bold and almost unprecedented steps across both fiscal and monetary policy to address Nigeria’s economic quagmire.
“We have seen courageous moves on subsidy removal, unification of the foreign exchange market, student loans, national credit schemes, fiscal prudence, and the electricity sector, just to mention a few, although many have not achieved their intended impact due to many setbacks in implementation.
“However, policy and reforms are means to an end. The end is to improve Nigerian welfare. This takes me to the second performance index: macroeconomic indicators. This administration has lagged on major economic indicators that matter to the average Nigerian. The inflation rate has reached its highest levels in decades. The exchange rate hit its highest level in history. Economic growth at barely 3% for a developing country like ours is less inclusive.
“Oil production has not improved massively. Our foreign reserves are still heavily encumbered, not to mention Nigeria’s rising fiscal vulnerability from mounting debt stock and its impact on government liquidity,” the Afrinvest analyst explained.
He added: “There are a myriad of disturbing challenges that now keep the country on the verge of a social crisis, especially from food and energy insecurity. While the reform measures taken look laudable and have a potent positive sentiment for foreign investors, the actual performance of the economy is critical to the nation’s stability going forward.
“For this administration, it is not time to count gains yet if more Nigerians do not have access to or cannot afford adequate food and energy compared to previous years, irrespective of the cause. In short, people’s welfare is the most important scorecard, and that has fared poorly in the last year.”
Speaking further, Adelaja pointed out that President Tinubu must put the people first in his policies.
“A softer approach is needed to address the concerns of citizens, beyond just engaging stakeholders. The government must prioritise human capital development and wealth distribution to ensure economic growth and stability,” he said.
