· Smooth, rough roads to public acceptance
On Monday 29 May 2023, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu took over the leadership of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. At his inauguration he unleashed his policies and programmes, with the first bang being the removal of fuel subsidies. Shortly after that was the unification of foreign exchange, followed by the dissolution of the boards of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Change of Service Chiefs. More are still in the works as it is traditionally done by new administrations, like the removal of electricity subsidy billed for July 1, 2023.
However, the new policies are not on their own problem posers, but their implementation as regards impact on the citizenry, national balance, peace, and shared prosperity. Experts and Analysts have weighed these policies on a scale of impact with the pendulum swinging more to the negative.
For instance, the removal of fuel subsidy was a long-awaited measure to block what generality of Nigerians had tagged a scam. President Tinubu did remove it on his inauguration ground and immediately spiked the cost of fuel from N194 to N480 and subsequently to N535 per litre. The Nigerian Labour congress, Trade Union Congress (TUC), kicked, threatened national strike and protest. IPMAN, Civil society groups, opposition political parties, and professional bodies criticized the timing and lack of consultations and palliatives. Some argued that the subsidy removal was billed for the end of June, why the haste, they queried.
The action triggered a hike in transport fare, food inflation and great pain and agony on the masses. People started trekking for about 2 to 3 kilometres to get to their offices while motorists were subjected to very long queues to buy from major stations where prices were cheaper.
Lamenting the development, Moses Kpeku, a motorcycle rider, told a news media that, “Nigeria cannot get better, just imagine, the President only made an announcement, the marketers have adjusted prices and are making life hellish.
“The rich will only become richer as the common man is always at the receiving end, which type of wickedness is this? ” he queried.
Justifying the pump price adjustment an oil marketer who craved anonymity said, “We adjusted the pump prices up because with his announcement on the removal of subsidy, if we go to buy, the prices will be up. So, we are trying to raise money for that.”
Conversely, the House of Representatives through a motion moved by Jimoh Olajide, threw its weight behind the president, urging Nigerians to be patient with Tinubu’s administration.
Prof. Uwaleke, a finance and capital market expert, backed the removal of fuel subsidy saying that it is a huge cost on the economy and unsustainable.
The introduction of a unified exchange rate also generated its own tension as analysts and experts differed in their assessment of the policy.
According to analysts at CardinalStone Research, the move will increase the attractiveness of the country’s export goods in international markets as well as improve the outlook for its Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) said that the unification of the naira exchange rate would boost government revenue by a minimum of N4 trillion.
Meanwhile, according to data from the FMDQ, the FX unification has exposed states external debt to an increase of N3 trillion.
An Economic expert said that the FX unification policy can only achieve positive impact only if the government supplies more dollars into the market.
On Monday June, 19 President Tinubu dissolved the governing boards of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The dissolution of governing boards of MDAs has got its nods and knocks. A highly placed politician accused President Tinubu of destroying the system to achieve his personal gains even as their appointment is statutory, alleging that he wants to replace them with his own people.
Adesola Fagbemi supporting the President’s move said, “The Fulanis have taken over Nigeria’s ministries shared appointment for themselves under Buhari leaving other ethnic nationalities out, there should be appointment and employment reshuffle for national unity.”
The retirement of military service chiefs took its own reckoning even as experts have described it as a normal practice.
Dr. Abdullahi Mohammed Jabi, said the mass retirement of military generals had no serious implication for the nation’s security.
“It is a tradition and they have overstayed their usefulness. Let’s have new blood, new experience, new active officers to mount all those positions to see what they can contribute in changing the situation as it were now.
“More so, this appointment cuts across six geopolitical zones. This is federal character in action and this is work in progress; our prayer is that the new chiefs will be able to withstand the situation on ground and be able to deliver on the mandate to ensure that Nigerians can close their eyes to sleep very well.
“It is neither here nor there; it is a routine in the military circle that whenever your junior is appointed, those who are senior are to go on compulsory retirement. It is not just starting with this regime and it is not going to end with it. It is a global thing in the military, so it is not just a Nigerian thing,” he stated.
However, some experts have picked holes in the new appointments, asserting that they were lopsided. They opined that some geopolitical zones were favoured more than others.
An astute politician from the North Central who pleaded anonymity criticized the appointment and said that his zone was excluded from the appointment while the president’s Southwest got more than other zones.