Planned Protest: With Patience, Tinubu Will Lead Us To The Promise Land – Ademuyiwa Adebola Taofeek

It’s a settled matter that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited a country in a precarious fiscal situation. Debts consumed nearly all of the government’s revenue; a dysfunctional foreign exchange system drained the treasury and drove away investors, and various subsidies with doubtful benefits limited the government’s investment in critical infrastructure.

Like a surgeon faced with a patient bleeding from multiple wounds, he had to make tough, painful decisions. One of them was the removal of the fuel subsidy. It was a policy move that past leaders promised but lacked the courage to follow through on, due to fear of backlash from the small elite group that exploited this scheme to grow their wealth.

Not beholden to any member of this shadow elite society, having won his mandate at the polls on the strength of his record and network, President Bola Tinubu immediately moved to halt the non-transparent payments, rightly deeming them wasteful. The decision, though correct and beneficial to long-term stability, came with momentary pain.

Prices of transportation and food surged, increasing the pressure on the average Nigerian’s income. This was not unexpected; it’s the pain from scrubbing a decaying open wound to disinfect it and commence the healing process. And the healing process has begun in Nigeria. As the President recently said at an event, “Things are looking up. Things will get better for the good of all Nigerians.”

Nigeria’s revenue-to-debt service ratio has dropped from 97% to 68%, meaning we are spending less of the nation’s revenue on debt and more on beneficial infrastructure and social schemes. This achievement resulted from disciplined debt management measures and the gradual unlocking of opportunities in Nigeria’s non-oil sector to minimize the country’s exposure to global fluctuations in crude trade.

Our foreign reserve continues to grow as we settle debt backlogs owed to investors to improve our standing globally and restore trust in the nation’s capacity to remain solvent.

Those threatened by Nigeria’s imminent transition from the era of corrupt subsidy payments and a messy exchange rate system that produced overnight billionaires are desperately seeking to stop the change. They are manipulating ordinary Nigerians with calls for a protest that will achieve little but sacrifice the country’s stability and unnecessarily prolong the recovery process.

Subsidy removal may have been occasioned by inflation, which is now under control, but it also empowered the government to introduce unprecedented schemes that will deliver economic prosperity in the medium term and accelerate Nigeria’s journey to becoming the true giant of Africa, and indeed a global force, in the long term.

These people-centric schemes represent the government’s commitment to committing funds to things that are of the most benefit to the people, not just a few men behind the scenes. They include:

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1. Student Loan: President Tinubu, in June 2023, signed a student loan amendment bill into law. One that does not only cater for students of federal higher institutions alone but has adopted state-owned institutions to benefit from the scheme as well. This will help discourage the rate of drop out student among Nigerian student due to the effect of poverty.

The Senate president, Godswill Akpabio announced in June 2024 that over 30,000 students have already benefited. Without relenting, the president is bent on ensuring the Nigerian Loan Fund thrives on fairness, inclusiveness, and equity.

2. CNG Technology: The Compressive Natural Gas CNG technology is an initiative of President Tinubu in his commitment to ensure Nigerians are relieved from the harsh economic weather of the fuel subsidy removal and to intervene with a more cost-effective, healthier alternative. President Tinubu signed the establishment of the presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative on 18 August 2023, launching the initiative in Ilorin Kwara state.

This initiative will drastically reduce the cost of transportation burden on the everyday Nigerian. Health wise, it is a cleaner form of energy compared to the popular Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as fuel. This will in turn boost their daily living condition.

3. Consumer Credit Scheme: On 24 April 2024, President Tinubu approved the first phase of the consumer credit scheme. Consumer credit being the lifeblood of modern economies. This is a commitment by this administration to ensure Nigerians boost their quality of life by accessing goods and services upfront and paying responsibly over time.

4. Local Government Financial Autonomy: On July 11 2024, the Supreme Court ordered a judgement that no state should be paid the money meant for local government. Allowing the local government to take charge of their resources, further encouraging grass-root development and less interference of the state and federal government. Giving them the opportunity to grow at their own pace.

5. Minimum Wage: President Tinubu magnanimously announced the 70,000 naira minimum wage, making it over 100% increment from the previous minimum wage bill. He further promised to assist the private sector and state government in implementing the new minimum wage and to review the minimum wage every three years. He eventually signed the minimum wage bill on 29 July 2024.

This simply means the quality of life of the everyday Nigerian will be enhanced, reducing the rate of poverty.
These programs are destroying the kidnapping industry that previously took root in the country, while denying terror groups an army of youth to recruit from. Their effects are apparent yet unfolding, with the benefits to be fully felt in the coming months.

It is a democratic truth that citizens are allowed to air their grievances through protest actions. President Tinubu, a lifelong democrat, affirmed this recently. However, the question that protestors must answer is whether it is in their interest to undo this clear progress and advance the agenda of the shadow elite seeking a return to the days of underhand deals and corrupt payments, with just a few days of rage.

The President expressed this concern best when he said: “We are not afraid of protests. Our concern is for the ordinary people and the damages that will be done. To this day, I cannot forget the brand new 60 and 100 seater buses, down there in Lagos, that were burnt down, and now we are complaining about transportation. That is the problem.”

Reforms are never easy nor painless. Nigeria is turning a corner. The country needs stability to continue on this path of progress. Protesting at this time will achieve nothing except to set us back.

Ademuyiwa Adebola Taofeek anipr writes from Abuja.