By ISREAL NANJUL LAR
In his inaugural speech, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the five famous words that have considerably altered the lives of Nigerians: “The fuel subsidy is gone.” He added that the 2023 budget made no provision for fuel subsidy and, moreover, subsidy payment was no longer justifiable.
The removal led to the tripling of the prices of petrol across major cities from less than N200 per litre to about N700 per litre. This has in turn led to a huge increase in the costs of goods and services which further worsened the hardships being experienced by Nigerians.
President Tinubu had warned that the Nigerian economy was in distress but highlighted the progress his administration was making towards creating opportunities for growth and development in the country. He made these disclosures in a speech at a 2023 leadership conference and awards ceremony where he was represented by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
According to the president there were other key initiatives being made in the areas of investment. And while efforts were in top gear to support Nigerian businesses, policies had been introduced to assist students and vulnerable households as well as enhance food security and attract foreign direct investment.
Tinubu further acknowledged that even though these were indeed challenging times, they have also been marked by unprecedented opportunities to reset and build a new and sustainable economy, away from the past culture of waste- once the order of the day.
He disclosed that the intervention funds, totaling N200 billion, had been set aside to support Nigerian businesses, in addition to a new federal students’ loan programme and the Presidential Initiative on CNG. However, the N200 billion would be disbursed through three special intervention funds established to support Nigerian businesses.
The president also outlined the substantial increase in revenues accruing to the three tiers of government since the removal of the petroleum subsidy. Hence, it is believed that more funds would be available to directly impact the lives of Nigerians through investments in critical infrastructure, social security and other areas.
He pointed out that the other efforts of the Federal Government aimed at bringing economic relief to Nigerians included the commencement of negotiations between the Federal and state governments and the organized labour for a new minimum wage for the country and scaling up the second investment programme.
Tinubu added that, for the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians, the social investment programme was currently under review to reposition it for maximum impact in order to support millions of households with direct cash transfers to enable them meet their basic needs.
The president emphasized that since assumption of office in May 2023, his administration had attracted $30 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FOI) commitments into the real sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, telecoms, health care and oil, just to mention but a few.
However, what have been the effects of these policies and the foreign investments coming into the country on the economy of the country? In what ways have these positively impacted the living standards of the masses?
According to a recent report by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), about 767 manufacturers have shut down their operations while 335 became distressed. These, they noted, came against the backdrop of the exchange rate volatility, rising inflation and other economic challenges that have worsened the investment climate as well as the negative consequences on the manufacturing sector which is huge and cannot be accommodated at this time of evident economic distress.
In the same vein, food security in Nigeria has become critical, according to a policy brief on the state of emergency declared on food security, with about 17 million people estimated to be critically food insecure.
This situation has over the years been impacted especially by violent conflicts, including the Islamist insurgency in the Northwest, perennial attacks on farmers, land grabbing as well as separatist agitation.
A strategic food security programme can help increase agricultural productivity, expand market participation, increase resilience of vulnerable households, create a business enabling environment and increase access to finance.
These, to a large extend, will go a long way in bringing back the good old days.
