President Bola Tinubu, in a national broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day anniversary Tuesday, addressed the nation’s current challenges, emphasising his administration’s commitment to long-term reforms for economic recovery, security, and youth development.
Here are the major highlights from his speech:
Economic reforms and high cost of living
Tinubu addressed the economic difficulties faced by Nigerians, emphasising his administration’s commitment to reforms aimed at restoring growth and stability.
He acknowledged that “many of you struggle with rising living costs and the search for meaningful employment,” but reassured citizens that “we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Africa’s most populous nation is currently grappling with rising prices, owing to fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification by Tinubu’s administration.
Though headline inflation has slowed for the second consecutive month to 32.15 per cent in August 2024, the living conditions of the citizens have in no way gotten any better.
according to analysts, food inflation, which constitutes over 50 percent of Nigeria’s headline inflation, has also decelerated to 37.52 percent due to seasonal harvests.
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Nigeria, a nation with over 220 million people, has more than 24 million people who are food insecure and plunged into hunger, according to the 2024 Global Report on Food Crises.
The government, though, has rolled out measures, including distribution of grains to the most vulnerable groups, to douse the pains.
The Nigerian government has also recently suspended duties, tariffs, and taxes for the importation of food maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas for 150 days.
However, the palliative measures are yet to cool the prices of staples already up in the market as Nigerians continue to spend 65% percent of their income on food, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
The CBN has so far raised the monetary policy rate by a combined 850 basis points from 18.75 percent in July 2023 to 27.25 percent last month, reaching the highest ever recorded in the country to bolster the battered economy.
“When the time harvest starts coming in, food prices and inflation by extension, headline inflation, tend to go down,” Samson Simon, chief economist ARKK Economics & Data Limited, said.
The economist argued that the hike in monetary policy rate and other policies are to tackle core inflation, but have not yielded the desired result.
“Our stock of money supply has gone up despite hiking interest rates,” Simon said.
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Security progress
On the security front, Tinubu celebrated the military’s successes against insurgents, particularly Boko Haram and bandit commanders.
He revealed that over 300 commanders have been eliminated in the past year, restoring peace to several communities in the North.
“Our target is to eliminate all threats of Boko Haram, banditry, and kidnapping for ransom,” he declared.
Insecurity remains a primary driver of the food crisis, disrupting agricultural production, hindering distribution, and limiting access to essential resources.
Farmers are increasingly fearful of venturing into their fields due to the threat of violence, kidnapping, and banditry, particularly in the north where the bulk of the country’s food is planted.
Northerners are predominantly subsistence farmers with traditional skills and tools for farming but bandits and kidnappers have taken over large swathes of territory in the northwest and central regions.
According to a recent report by SBM Intel titled “An August Nightmare: Assessing The Early Days of The #EndBadGovernanceProtestInNigeria”, the north has suffered more kidnappings between July 2023 and June 2024, with more than ten times as many kidnap victims as the south.
“In early 2024, SBM found that no less than N139 million was paid as farm levies (including planting and harvesting) to bandits who demanded at least N224 million across the North between 2020 and 2023,” the report stated.
“In the same period leading up to June 2024, at least 1,356 farmers were killed across the country, with most of the killings occurring in the North,” it added.
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Disaster relief
In response to recent natural disasters, particularly flooding, the president announced the approval of a Disaster Relief Fund by the Federal Executive Council.
He noted that his government has conducted integrity tests on all dams to prevent future calamities. “This federal government will always stand with our people in their times of trouble,” he pledged.
In 2012 and 2022, devastating floods attributed to dam releases displaced millions destroyed thousands of homes, and severely impacted agricultural production.
The 2022 flooding in Nigeria was unprecedented in scale and intensity, surpassing the 2012 floods. Over 600 fatalities were reported, and 3.2 million people were affected across 34 states.
Following the collapse of the Alau Dam a few days ago, devastating floods inundated approximately 70% of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, posing further strain on Nigeria’s already dire food crisis and worsening hunger.
Flood is one of the drivers of Nigeria’s ballooning internally displaced persons (IDPs), which stood at 3.34 million at the end of 2023, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).
Focus on youth and job creation
The president announced plans for a National Youth Conference aimed at addressing the challenges faced by young Nigerians.
He emphasised the importance of giving young people a platform in nation-building, stating, “We are creating a pathway for a brighter tomorrow by ensuring that young people’s voices are heard in shaping policies that impact their lives.”
Also, the government’s 3 Million Technical Talents (3MTT) programme, designed to develop tech skills and create employment among the youth, was emphasised.
Nigeria is grappling with a rising jobless rate with unemployment soaring to 5.3 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 from 4.1 percent reported in the corresponding period of 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The unemployment rate rose by 19.1 percent in four years, moving from 14.2 percent in 2016 to 33.3 percent in 2020, while the underemployment rate accelerated from 21 percent to 22.8 percent.
“But based on a new methodology that the NBS recently migrated to, the unemployment rate in 2024’Q1 was 5.3 percent and the time-related underemployment rate was 10.6 percent,” Analysts and Data Services and Research (ADSR) said in its recent report.
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Energy
On the energy front, Tinubu reiterated his government’s commitment to the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for mass transit, ensuring cheaper public transportation.
A recent visit by BusinessDay to several conversion centres listed on the PCNGI website revealed that though these centers are operational, the major obstacle to the wider adoption of CNG conversion lies in the high cost, which has deterred many vehicle owners from making the switch.
Fiscal policy and debt management
The president highlighted his administration’s efforts to stabilise the economy, including clearing inherited foreign exchange backlogs and reducing the debt service ratio from 97% to 68%.
He stated, “We have managed to keep our foreign reserve at $37 billion while meeting all our obligations.” Fiscal policy reforms are also underway to stimulate investment and reduce tax burdens.
The president also highlighted ongoing efforts to reform the fiscal system, emphasising that the country attracted over $30 billion in foreign direct investments within the past year.
He stated, “If we do not correct the fiscal misalignments that led to the current economic downturn, our country will face an uncertain future.”
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