By Dan Onwukwe
No matter the clouds of controversy that trailed how he won the Feb 25, 2023 presidential election, one year has passed since Bola Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria’s President. But the manner in which he has governed the country in the last one year still generates intense public debate. The following questions remain top of public discourse: Is Nigeria better now than Tinubu met it?
Are the lives and livelihood of the citizens better or worse now than before Tinubu came to power? And how will history judge him and the policies he has implemented in the last one year ? Of course, opinions differ, but the general consensus is that history will not be kind to most of the policies that he initiated unless he changes course. On that score, it’s not unkind to say that his administration still carries more baggage than an ocean liner.
And this is why. Every assessment of a leader’s performance in office must be taken in the context of a team’s success or failure. Besides, nothing creates more bitterness in a democracy, and for a government in power than promises not kept. That’s the verdict of Nigerians on Tinubu’s presidency in the last 390 days (and counting). It’s fair to say that so far, this administration has squandered public trust.
It has been living in denial amid unprecedented hardship in the country. A government that behaves like business as usual, as if all is well, when the opposite is the case, must be talking through its hat rather than through its heart and mind. In just one year of this government, and in assessing its policy reforms, it’s not an exaggeration to say that governance in Nigeria is like a horror movie that only few will want to watch.
Each time I write about this government and its
policies so far, it’s with so much sorrow because of the untold hardship it has
unleashed on the people. In all humility, I was raised to value all people, and
indeed, to look for the good in everybody. Sad to say that in one year of this
administration, I am yet to see any uplifting thing that makes one proud to be
living in a democracy, except that this President lavishes ‘rewards’ on those
who defines truth downwards, fudge facts, people who are ever willing and ready
to die for even what they don’t believe in. In one year, we have heard the
president’s men tell us, shamelessly, amid rising prices, that there’s no food
shortage in the country.
Today, take a walk around your neighbourhood, you
will see many Nigerians rummaging through the dustbins looking for something to
eat. This is increasing the present cases of cholera epidemic across the
states. The cost of drugs is now beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.
Time may soon come when we will be told that dogs don’t bark, that cats bark.
We are in an era of flight of conscience, of politics of no conviction.
That sums up the horrible state of affairs in our country. You see, leadership will continue to fail Nigeria as long as our political leaders continue to confuse the nation’s destiny with their own. This will make unity and progress hard to achieve and resetting the economy even harder. That’s what happens when a government lives in denial, when it ought to focus on the challenges of immediate sort confronting the nation, but instead pursues trivia things with zeal and treats urgent matters with levity.
Individuals who express contrary opinions are tagged ‘enemy of the state’. No nation succeeds that way. This is a loud and clear message: to bring about positive change or ‘Renewed Hope’, an elected president requires a broad range of public support for the general direction of his policies. Presidential historians have written volumes of books, to the effect that public support is a key resource that modern presidents should seek if they want to succeed. But it must be based on measurable outcomes. It’s unfortunate that this administration appears not committed to restoring public confidence, growth and reducing poverty in the land. It has equally ignored microeconomic issues that have triggered poverty in the country.
One is inclined to believe that this government lacks compassion. It’s not an advocate for the poor. Make no mistake about it: Tinubu’s presidency believes that government should be run for the benefit of powerful entrenched interests and the wealthy. It bears repeating that his policies are against the over 133 million multi-dimensionally poor, which according to the National Bureau of Statistics represents 63 percent of Nigeria’s population. This government doesn’t hide the fact that it pampers the rich at the detriment of the over . That’s why most of the government’s policies have attracted high-octane condemnation from a few voices of reason remaining in the country.
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo and Peter Obi,
the Labour Party presidential candidate in last year’s election, have said that
much in recent days. Like him or hate him, Obasanjo is not looking for any
oxygen of publicity or redemption through any harsh criticism of Tinubu’s style
of governance, even though both of them have been long political enemies.
Though it’s true that OBJ didn’t spare previous presidents when he felt they
were going off track, he’s one man who’s not afraid to walk alone in the dark
if that is what it means to make his voice heard. To his critics, OBJ is like a
raging bull, an apparition they hate to see, all the same, you cannot ignore
his voice. Call it his searing trademark. A few weeks ago, he hit hard at what
he considers the wrong implementation of Tinubu’s key economic policies, citing
the petrol subsidy removal and ‘floating’ of the naira as classic examples.
While he agrees that the two policies were
necessary, he insists that they could have been implemented with a sense of
utmost caution. Even before OBJ, Obi had on several occasions painted with a
stinking brush the manner this administration went about implementing the fuel
subsidy removal and the unification of the foreign exchange market, including
the reckless expenditures of government, especially the concluded plan to buy a
new presidential jet for the luxury of the president.
As Senate President,
Godswill Akpabio said, the “life of the president is more important than that
of the other citizens”. As everyone else has said, timing in policy
implementation and prudent management of scarce resources are essential
tools for leadership success, particularly at this time that the country
is in serious financial crisis, and has urged the Organised Labour to acceed to
whatever it offers as national minimum wage. But you urge the people to tighten
their belts without making sacrifices.
Listening to public opinion, another key skill
for effective governance is absent in this administration.
Perhaps worse than anything else, the barefaced lies and failure to admit that serious errors have been made in the last one year, and the need to make amends, have become an inexcusable occupational disease that continues to afflict the government and its policymakers. Instead of admitting that serious economic mistakes have been made, the President alleged the other day, when he received a delegation of the National Assembly, led by Akpabio, who paid him a Sallah homage him, that some Nigerians have sabotaged some of his economic policies .
He said these Nigerians have “rent-seeking mindset”, adding that Nigerians “are not the only people” facing hunger and poverty in the world.
Trading blames is not a good asset in leadership positions. Living by example is the stuff of leadership . But, not this government, not the members of the National Assembly, which the President calls his “best partners” at a time like this”. Why not? We thought the Senate under Ahmad Lawan was a puppet of the presidency, now we have seen the real deal under Akpabio. Making light of the dire situation that poor Nigerians are going through today as a result of government’s ill-timed policies, is the height of leadership insensitivity.
Come to think of it, isn’t Nigeria still
the “world’s poverty capital”, despite abundant resources? Doesn’t
the country still have the highest number of out-of-school children, high
infant mortality, high corruption index, unemployment, and the highest income
inequality between the rich and the poor? That’s the point Obi made last week
when he criticised the President for “downplaying” the seriousness of the
hardship facing the people.
In times of crises, a nation needs good leadership
that will inspire.
That’s called ‘Transference Leadership”, a leadership that cares, a leadership that knows what it means to use great power for great purposes. These are two different, but essential tools for successful leadership. Truth is, if governance continues to be run like ‘business as usual, and if hope remains difficult to be renewed, this administration should not blame it on Nigerians. It is because this government appears ill-prepared to learn from its mistakes. That’s why the economy continues to wobble. According to the latest data from the Debt Management Office (DMO), the nation’s debt stock has reached all-time high of N121trn, and inflation rate at 33.95 percent for the month of May, says the NBS report. Last week the naira exchanged at N1,500/$1 at the parallel market.
Nigeria is about to lose its position as Africa’s largest economy by year’s end, according to the International Monetary Fund(IMF) recent report. For the records, Nigeria has never gone down this low before even in war time situation. It may sound as a harsh conclusion that the present leadership is not ready for this critical time that Nigeria faces, what needs to be done to halt the drift, and how to implement the right policies to move the country forward. These are clear lapses in the last one year of this administration: there have so much impulsiveness, lack of planning, little consultation and execution of key policies in almost all sectors of the economy.
And you ask, where is the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ that
Tinubu promised with so much fanfare during the campaign? As one cleric, Rev
Blessing Enyindah told Tinubu during the funeral rites of late Gov Rotimi Akeredolu
of Ondo state, “you said it’s your turn, now save Nigeria from hunger”. It’s a
clarion call for the President to act fast and address the hardship in the
country. Will he heed the call? Time is running out. The glass is no longer
half-full or half-empty. It’s running over. That’s a red flag.
*Onwukwe is a commentator on public issues
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