Tinubu’s Broadcast: The Missing Link

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s nationwide speech on July 31, 2023, recognised the inauspicious impact of his fiscal and monetary policies on Nigerians. The Tide appreciates his efforts in engaging with citizens’ concerns and comprehending their predicament. We encourage him to sustain a firm commitment to interactive engagement as an inherent feature of his government.
In his nationwide broadcast, the President addressed Nigerians’ concerns regarding the challenging economic situation directly resulting from his government’s recent policies. He empathised with the citizens and justified the necessity of the tough decisions made for the benefit of the country.
However, the speech concentrated on populist grandiosity but disregarded pragmatic measures to forestall subsidy removal and exchange rate flop. Interventions embodied N75billion for 75 enterprises, N125billion for MSMEs, the freeing of 200,000 metric tons of grains, N200 billion for cultivation, and N100billion for gas-powered buses. But Nigerians require more concrete measures to effectively palliate the impact.
For many Nigerians, the broadcast is uninspiring as it failed to tackle essential issues dissembling their standard of living and businesses. For instance, the President failed to cite primal solutions such as local refining of petroleum products, concrete plans for mass transit systems, lifting the employment embargo, or affording a well-defined timeline for raising remunerations and salaries, among others.
Undoubtedly, Tinubu’s policies have caused inflation, particularly impacting small-scale businesses and industries dependent on petrol. This has a disconfirming impact on commercial-grade motorcyclists and local barbers. Major enterprises reliant on the dollar face high exchange rates, ensuing in significantly increased prices for crucial goods, and placing a strain on the average Nigerian’s finances.
The President accused some people of embezzling subsidy funds, but surprisingly no action has been taken to recover the stolen money or penalise the corrupt. The Nigeria Customs Service, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were established to combat petroleum smuggling and protect the subsidy scheme, but their inactivity has contributed to its collapse. Accountability for officials and those accepting funds without fulfilling obligations is needed.
The palliative measures announced by Mr. President are unrealistic and cannot furnish temporary relief or a lasting solution to Nigeria’s rising living expenses. The authorities must re-evaluate the monetary and fiscal policies, which have caused the disorderly economic environment. A sustainable approach to reforms must be enforced by the Tinubu administration to harness the economic issues.
Despite the President’s promise that the Port Harcourt refinery would operate in December in a meeting with the NLC and TUC leadership to forfend the last protest against subsidy removal, we insist that the refinery solely cannot satisfy the fuel demands of Nigerians. Moreover, Tinubu failed to mention when the other refineries would be operative.
The operational date of the Port Harcourt refinery has been uncertain consequent upon multiple timelines presented in the past. Former Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, pledged that it would be running by December last year, but another date of September 2022 was afterwards given. It is mandatory for all the refineries to be operable by the end of the year.
Also in the broadcast, the President mentioned billions of naira budgeted for dissimilar palliatives, loans for students, and gratuitous buses, and how they had preserved over N1 trillion from subsidy removal within a month. We opine that Tinubu and his team should invest the proceeds in the refurbishment of all the refineries in the country to deal with the subsidy question.
Regrettably, little interest has been demonstrated by the Federal Government in revamping the nation’s refineries. The President’s proposed solutions to the country’s economic challenges are ill-conceived. His address lacks the necessary panacea for Nigeria’s current economic conditions. Hence, the problems, inflictions, and adversities will persevere until the refineries are operational.
Even with the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, we reiterate that with a dexterous, transparent and innovative management of resources, economic potentials, national comparative advantage, and expanded value chain in refining capacity, petrol should not sell for more than N150 per litre in the country.
We also observe the absence of provisions in the speech regarding riverine and coastal transportation, as well as haulage, which embody important components driving Nigeria’s trade, commerce, agriculture, and industrial sectors. In the light of these novel challenges presented by the speech, Nigerians should refrain from despair and uphold composure, supporting one another during this precarious period.
Efforts should focus on reducing governance costs and re-allocating savings towards infrastructure provision. If petroleum products cannot be subsidised, other sectors like health, transportation, and education should be considered. Tinubu’s administration must address the insufficient palliatives announced on May 29, 2023, as they cannot inhibit the sufferings of Nigerians.