Following his disputed emergence as Nigeria’s “president”, Bola Tinubu is not only testing the patience of Nigerians by imposing a series of anti-people policies, he equally appears to be in a great hurry to outdo dictator Buhari’s chaotic regime, after the latter finished off as the worst Nigerian president since independence.
Even before stepping into his new office, Tinubu unleashed his hostility on Nigerians by his insensitive decision to remove subsidy on petrol, which he later tried to defend by claiming that the anti-people policy was a show of “courage.” His flawed argument to attempt to justify this ill-conceived policy was that oil marketers had corrupted the subsidy regime and that by way of “fighting corruption,” subsidy had to end. So manipulative was this campaign that some Nigerians who lacked the ability to think critically, bought this flawed argument and subsequently supported the removal of petroleum subsidy. And so, even though they grudgingly criticised the removal of subsidy, these set of Nigerians were not necessarily doing so because it was a wrong move, but that the timing was not right. Which, on the other hand, meant that: “Yes, subsidy removal is okay, but not now”. An ignorant endorsement of their own suffering!
Nigeria is an oil-producing nation yet citizens of the country have no right to enjoy the benefits of that oil? Oil revenues have been the exclusive right of politicians and their families to steal and put in Western banks!
Political elites in Nigeria see Nigerians as their foremost foes. The implication of this is that they consistently work round the clock to impose anti-people policies on them with the promise to “suffer today and enjoy tomorrow”, which has been their favourite anthem since 1960. And so, each time Nigerians seem to benefit anything from its government, it causes these politicians several sleepless nights, which compels them to spend the duration of their tenures gradually plotting to terminate that tiny fallen cube of sugar that seems to give Nigerians joy.
Like I mentioned earlier, Tinubu claimed that his decision to remove subsidy was a way of fighting corruption, but he looked the other way when marketers and petrol stations nationwide hurriedly hiked pump price 15 minutes after he announced the removal of subsidy, despite the fact that the product hiked had already been subsidised. What did Tinubu, the self-styled “corruption fighter” do about that?
Since his controversial ascension to the throne, it has been from one outrageous calamity to the next one, which has emphatically validated pervasive arguments that beyond his inordinate desire to grab power, he has absolutely nothing to offer the country and its people, except to amplify hardship, beyond the unwanted record left behind by his predecessor. This situation unambiguously explains his rationale for hiding from public debates/interviews throughout the campaign period. It was a strategic decision to avoid being exposed. He had clearly concluded that although being absent would attract a deluge of criticisms, it was better than getting disgraced on national television whilst struggling to explain economic policies he knew nothing about. He had no trust in his intellectual ability and hiding became his only resort.
How can any employer expect “wonderful things” after he purportedly hired an applicant who arrogantly refused to show up during a series of interviews to explain why he considered himself better than several others who also wanted the same job.
The result of such a horrible hiring decision is not farfetched in contemporary Nigeria. One of the ways this disastrous decision has manifested is in the daily decline of the value of the Naira so that the Nigerian currency is not only inferior to the American Dollar but also to almost all currencies throughout the world. Yes, it is that bad and utterly embarrassing!
But the problem is that Nigerians have become used to seeing their Naira languishing behind the American Dollar, so much so that such news is no longer seen as a surprise. But the truth is that this alarming problem goes beyond the Dollar. Most currencies across Africa now have much value than the Nigerian Naira. An example of this is the Ghana Cedi. The exchange rate says 1GHS/₦75, and that’s the official exchange rate. It should be over ₦85 in the black market. By this official rate, 1000 Cedis would change for ₦75,000 whilst 100,000 Cedis would change for ₦7,500,000 [Seven Million, Five Thousand Naira]. The alarming thing about this is that the Nigerian Naira loses value almost every hour. As at the night of July 18, checks showed that 1 Ghana Cedi changed for a little over ₦68. By the morning of July 19, it had quickly climbed to more than ₦70! By mid-afternoon on July 19, it had reached ₦73, etc, etc.
At this rate, it is safe to conclude that by the time the year runs out, the exchange rate should be 1000 Cedis=₦500,000 or more!
But the Ghanaian Cedi is not the only African currency bossing the Naira under Bola Tinubu’s crumbled regime, other African currencies like: Somalia’s Shilling, Kenya’s Shilling, Zambia’s Kwacha, Tunisia’s Dinar, Sudan’s Pound, South Africa’s Rand, Mozambique’s Metical, Morocco’s Dirham, Libya’s Dinar, Liberia’s Dollar, Lesotho’s Loti, Ethiopia’s Birr, Egyptian Pound, Djibouti’s Franc, Comorian Franc, Central Africa’s CFA Franc [used in: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon], West African CFA Franc [used in: Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo], Cape Verde’s Escudu, Botswana’s Pula, Algeria’s Dinar are all superior to the Nigerian Naira.
This is utterly embarrassing! Where then lies the “giantness” that Nigerians ignorantly boasts of when their currency is a laughing stock throughout Africa?
Nigeria has a “president” whose only idea about revenue generation is the imposition of all sorts of questionable charges on a people it has consistently impoverished through its anti-people policies. How do you comfortably impose these charges on a people you have not empowered in any way? Even the Bible tells us that what you sow is certainly what you would reap. Why is the Nigerian Government reaping bountifully from its victims without investing anything on them? Why should Nigerians be the cash cow of its anti-people government?
Although Tinubu may be a man without the slightest traces of competence, I do not expect him to be immune to shame! How does he face other African leaders knowing that he presides over a crumbled economy and the weakest currency on the continent?
This is embarrassing, Mr Tinubu. Have some shame for your own sake and fix this humiliating situation or step aside immediately!