Just as I reflected on a theme to anchor my thoughts on the first anniversary of the Tinubu Presidency, I received two electronic messages from the same source, expressing two diametrically opposed views on the same subject matter.
What is even more perplexing is the fact that the two messages were official communications purporting to convey a message from the highest office in the land and signed off by two individuals that should have been speaking from the same script.
The first message, an official communication from the office of the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Mr. Ajuri Ngelale read:
“STATE HOUSE PRESS STATEMENT
IN COMMEMORATION OF MAY 29 AND THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE PRESIDENT TINUBU ADMINISTRATION
In furtherance of his commitment to delivering good governance, President Bola Tinubu has embarked on the inauguration of strategic projects across the country.
More transformative projects will be inaugurated by President Tinubu’s administration for the benefit of all Nigerians.
In view of public commentary concerning the President delivering a speech before a Joint Sitting of the National Assembly tomorrow, May 29, 2024, it is important to state that this information is false and unauthorized as the Office of the President was not involved in the planning of the event.” This message was dated My 28, 2024.
In the same breath, another communication from the presidency and signed by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information & Strategy to Mr. President was released, and it read:
“STATE HOUSE PRESS STATEMENT
PRESIDENT TINUBU TO ADDRESS JOINT SITTING OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TOMORROW
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not make a broadcast to the nation on Wednesday to celebrate his first anniversary as the leader of Nigeria.
Instead, the President will address a joint session of the National Assembly, which has lined up a programme to commemorate 25 years of the nation’s democratic journey at both the executive and legislative levels.
President Tinubu’s speech will dwell on the achievements of his administration and Nigeria’s democracy since the military ceded power in 1999.
Former Senate President, Senator David Mark, former speaker of the House of Representatives and now President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila are all lined up to address the parliament.
Also lined up to speak is the former military ruler, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who handed over power to civilian administration in 1999.
At the end of the speeches, President Tinubu will commission the National Assembly Library and Resource Center, now to be known as Bola Ahmed Tinubu Building.” This one too, was dated May 28, 2024.
While we await the stage appearance of President Tinubu, the lead character in this dramaturgy about heroic failures, I can hear some mischief makers murmuring déjà vu. Certainly. It is the reincarnation of controversy, which has become the hallmark of this president.
Even more controversial is the record of performance of the first twelve months of the Tinubu presidency.
From last May 29, twelve months ago, when on inauguration day, President Tinubu, looking forlorn but turbo-charged by the excitement of new office pronounced, “subsidy is gone” until this day, cheerleaders and advocates of his policy choices have mastered the art of double-speak. They often argue, ‘even though the policies shall visit pain and hardship on the people, the tough decisions have to be made for the good of the country.’
Yet, what we see are somersaults and policy reversals that reveal the poor quality of work that was put into these policies. From the withdrawal of subsidy on petrol to the merger of the forex windows through to recent withdrawal of subsidy on power, Nigerians have been served a menu of completely strange dishes that give them no option of choice.
Unfortunately, this is coming after eight cruel years of nepotistic, corrupt and clueless reign of Gen Muhammad Buhari when virtually every index of misery took an upward swing. President Buhari represented the worst case of dashed hope since the return of civil rule in 1999.
At ascendancy in 2015, he promised to wrestle corruption to a manageable level, grow the economy and tackle insecurity. Eight years after, he handed Nigeria to his successor and party mate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the poverty capital of the world where about 113million, out of a population of 200million, was classified as multidimensionally poor with out-of-school population brimming at 20.2million children.
President Tinubu, during his numerous electioneering campaign stumps, promised to continue from where President Buhari stopped. It can be assumed that the import of that message was lost on many Nigerians until what some now say was a thoughtless “subsidy is gone” pronouncement.
From inauguration day till date, it will seem like the President was determined to act like the young king Rehoboam who spoke roughly to his subjects and said in 1 Kings 12.11: “And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!”
What is however, very clear to a discerning Nigerians is the fact that as many compatriots lay prostrate and distraught due to the excruciating burden of “Tinubunomics” his alleged puppeteers, the Bretton Woods institutions, infamous deities of the market-driven economy, may celebrate President Tinubu’s zero-subsidy regimes and the foreign exchange liberalization; two policies that created the current storm in the economy.
President Tinubu’s leadership mantra is christened, “Renewed Hope.” This contradicts sharply with the reality on ground as many Nigerians and their businesses have been crowded out of the emerging economic landscape. With the naira now a shadow of its old self, since it now exchanges for less than half of its value as at less than a year ago, while the rate of inflation has doubled and unemployment nearing 50 per cent, and with a cabinet that is an unwieldy crowd of round pegs fitted into square holes, it is most doubtful how President Tinubu can turn the corner and restore hope and life to many Nigerians who are already at economic and mental health ICUs.
What Nigerian politicians and their retinue of advisers are yet to come to terms with is the basic reality that governance is essentially about the welfare of the people. Anything beyond that is mere sophistry.
Dudley Seers, British and New Zealand development economist captures this convincingly when he “suggests that development is when a country experiences a reduction or elimination of poverty, inequality and unemployment.” In other words, the subject matter of development that should be of interest to our politicians and others in leadership positions is the type of answer they get to the question about what happens to poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, disease, destitution and such other negative indices.
So, as members of the governing APC and other apparatchiks of the current dispensation takeover media spaces and platforms to pontificate, and most times, lie about the record of performance of this government in the last twelve months, they need to spare a thought about the fact that figures do not lie.
Nairametrics reports that Nigeria’s misery index has been surging since Tinubu took over power, moving from 73.05 and headed towards the 100% mark. Food inflation as at last April was 40.53%, compared to 24.61% in the same period of last year.
With all the anti-people policies that have been brought onboard without commensurate implementation and impact assessment plan, President Tinubu has let the genie out of the bottle and it would require doubling down on remediation efforts to buoy the economy, heal the people and “Renew Hope”.
