If there was any time I have seen and experienced ‘wahala’, troubles, difficulties and hardship and living as Nigerians, it is the period between 2015 and now. This period covers the accession to power by General Muhammadu Buhari as President of Nigeria.
From 2015 to 2023, Buhari ruled Nigeria with such nepotism and incompetence that Nigerians were hard put to grapple between the general insecurities of kidnappings, banditry and corruption and dire socio-economic effects of his misrule that were suffocating them.
But from Sokoto to Port Harcourt, Maiduguri to Lagos the Buhari-Tinubu propaganda media complex browbeat and enthralled Nigerians to believe that all was well as the benefits of their party manifesto and government’s policies will become self-evident by 2023.
Throughout the period of Buhari’s misrule, Tinubu because of waiting for his turn never uttered a word of disagreement or condemnation of Buhari’s vile and incompetent policies and programmes. But surprisingly, Mr. Tinubu on Friday, this week told a delegation of Yoruba Leaders of Thought at State House, Abuja that it was when he took over from Buhari that he “stopped the bleeding” of Nigeria.
And he assured that august visitors declaring, “I can say categorically now that Nigeria is no longer bleeding. And it will not bleed to death, but rather will now move to prosperity.” ‘Akiko’, the same old story! To him, “the worst is over for Nigeria.”
Fantastic declarations, but lofty declarations not matched with positive actions and results have been the lot of Nigerians since 1999 to date, and particularly so under Buhari-Tinubu feudal and kleptocratic autocracy The lofty declarations of “renewed hope” and promise of prosperity were usually interspersed with denunciations such as that by Minister Adelebu comment regarding economic condition of Nigerians or Minister Bagudu’s boast that Tinubu’s economic policies have started yielding good results.
But Nigerians think otherwise. Standing between government and the people, I decided to check out the situation especially the energy problem since May 29, 2023 when the price of petrol climbed to over N600. So, I went to village market in my area and had firsthand experience of the market forces at a play. The major staple of the people is garri. A measure of gari, that is a custard bucket costs N3,500 and this measure can only feed a family of six Medium sized people twice.
A cup of rice is N400.00 while a bag of 50kg rice costs N70,000.00 iced fish ranges from N1,500 while a kilogram of cow meat is N6,000. A medium sized tuber of yam sells from N5000.00 while popular pumpkin leaves (ugu) costs N500 per a tie of ten stems. A stick of carrot goes for N200 while a litre of palm oil is N1,200.
Medium sized orange costs N100 while small ones cost N50.00 apiece. Now, if you calculate these prices against the commodities listed above you can imagine the existential crisis that has seized Nigeria since 2015 to date. And if matched with static minimum income of N30,000 then you appreciate the socio-economic predicament of Nigerians. Like the SAP regime of 1989 and 1993, the so called middle class has been effectively wiped out since 29th May, 2023.
Let’s take the status symbol of this class which is the ownership of an automobile, which in any case could be just a used foreign motor vehicles called ‘tokunbos’. Many of my friends have dropped their cars and have embraced the hassles of chaotic tricycle/cycle motor vehicular commercial transportation.
The drivers charge N200 per kilometre and N500 for a standard journey between two bus stops. ‘Charter’ that is riding alone costs a minimum of N5000 depending on the length of the journey. I think the most devastating of Tinubu economic policies is energy pricing review which from 29th May, 2023 jumped from under N200 to N850.
At the beginning of every week, I expend over N25,000.00 to fill half tank of 2008 Toyota Camry car. Riding within Abakaliki, my town of domicile, it takes two days but a travel to Enugu and back to Abakaliki (a 90-minute journey) the fuel will get exhausted to the reserve point. So, it is not surprising that man sure of gari, that is a custard bucket costs N3,500 and this measure can only feed a family of six Medium sized people twice.
A cup of rice is N400.00 while a bag of 50kg rice costs N70,000.00 iced fish ranges from N1,500 while a kilogram of cow meat is N6,000. A medium sized tuber of yam sells from N5000.00 while popular pumpkin leaves (ugu) costs N500 per a tie of ten stems. A stick of carrot goes for N200 while a litre of palm oil is N1,200.
Medium sized orange costs N100 while small ones cost N50.00 apiece. Now, if you calculate these prices against the commodities listed above you can imagine the existential crisis that has seized Nigeria since 2015 to date.
And if matched with static minimum income of N30,000 then you appreciate the socio-economic predicament of Nigerians. Like the SAP regime of 1989 and 1993, the so called middle class has been effectively wiped out since 29th May, 2023.
Let’s take the status symbol of this class which is the ownership of an automobile, which in any case could be just a used foreign motor vehicles called ‘Tokunbo’. Many of my friends have dropped their cars and have embraced the hassles of chaotic tricycle/cycle motor vehicular commercial transportation.
The drivers charge N200 per kilometre and N500 for a standard journey between two bus stops. ‘Charter’ that is riding alone costs a minimum of N5000 depending on the length of the journey. I think the most devastating of Tinubu economic policies is energy pricing review which from 29th May, 2023 jumped from under N200 to N850.
At the beginning of every week, I expend over N25,000.00 to fill half tank of 2008 Toyota Camry car. Riding within Abakaliki, my town of domicile, it takes two days but a travel to Enugu and back to Abakaliki (a 90-minute journey) the fuel will get exhausted to the reserve point. So, it is not surprising that man
Trade Union Congress (TUC) have made their stand known to Government that the panacea to current economic troubles is the raising of minimum wage of workers. But what about the farmers, the technicians and professionals who are not remunerated by government?
I consider NLC/TUC stand as mere stop-gap measure that may not significantly alter the living condition of the worker for good. For instance, assuming government accepts NLC/ TUC demand of N615,000 or N497,000 as the minimum salary, it is possible the Udoji Salary Award of 1974 crisis may erupt again.
I believe as I have posited in last week essay, ‘Manifesto of Nigerian Salaried/ Wage Earners’ which argues against salary or wage increase but rather advocates an equal opportunity remuneration policy framework whereby all workers (political office-holders, civil servants and private sector workers) should be remunerated on a unified salary scale that do not substantially create wide disparities between workers from different sectors of the political economy.
It is the current disparities that are distorting the political economy. Another calamitous economic policy of the current government is the floatation of the Naira to compete with other world currencies. This policy is similar to the 1989 devaluation of the Naira to supposedly stimulate export trade.
But how can a country that has a mono-export product which is crude oil which is adjudged the best quality bend backwards to devalue a national currency which regardless of its value cannot sway the foreign trader to buy or not buy the oil. The devaluation of the naira in 1989 made Nigeria’s oil cheap while the foreign goods are imported at high foreign exchange.
The worst devaluation of the naira is Nigerian politicians/ruler’s lack of confidence in the Naira as they distrusts naira as store of value but choose US Dollars as the means of store of value hence they exchange naira to dollars for political jobs while maintaining foreign bank accounts to store accumulated wealth overseas.
All these acts of lack of confidence in national currency constitute the worst devaluation. Whatever happens, let every Nigerian know that Nigerians are in dire strait of socio-economic difficulties and desires that Nigerian government pulls Nigerians from this economic crisis as soon as possible to obviate the private groaning from this economic quagmire escaping onto the public space which will be an embarrassment to the government.