Fueling National Frustrations, by Kene Obiezu

It is still early days in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but the signs are unmistakable that the success or failure of his administration will be judged on the fuel subsidy regime. So far, the handling of such a sensitive issue has been a masterclass in disaster.

At his inauguration as Nigeria’s 16th president, it took just a few words for president Tinubu to show the power a Nigeria president can wield. In ruthlessly declaring subsidy gone, even if it was a tad inadvertent, the president triggered a seismic earthquake in Nigeria’s economic substrata.

Within minutes of the declaration, life changed for many Nigerians as the price of fuel shot up, taking with it through the roof, the prices of goods and services in Nigeria. Life has not remained the same and as with any country, where perpetual struggle is a product of poor planning and cluelessly lethargic leadership, it is the most vulnerable Nigerians that have been hit the hardest. Those who used to live on less than a dollar a day have now been buried by the dollar which has surged beyond reach.

It has been eighteen months since the president swore to rescue Nigerians from the clutches of despair, promising to renew hope, the mantra on which he milked Nigerians of their mandate. The administration, including the first family, has tried to maintain optimism going forward. But the reality is much starker that Nigerians are losing their heads over biting economic hardship due in part to the removal of fuel subsidy and the catastrophic eight-year administration of Muhammadu Buhari which preceded it.

The last eighteen months have been spent trying to manage the post-fuel subsidy era even if many Nigerians suspect that fuel subsidy remains, and is not just being officially acknowledged by the government.
The price of fuel continues to increase almost on a weekly basis, raising the already stratospheric costs of living, and driving Nigerians to their wits’ end. The result has been hunger across the land in many ways, and even hunger for a regime change as expressed in some parts of the North during the various protests that have rocked the country.

What is clear is that the administration of President Bola Tinubu underestimated what fuel price means to Nigerians and Nigerian lives. Having presumptuously tampered with it without giving itself time to settle down and plan properly has brought on unintended consequences.

There is the searing hunger which has become in the hands of very angry Nigerians a rod for the government’s back, and there is the lack of support for the government which is a product of distrust of the government’s policies as it tries to distill and deconstruct events with little success.

While this is happening, the government continues to hike the price of fuel, further exposing Nigerians to ruthless market forces.

Let there be no doubt in the highest office in the land: as long as Nigerians cannot bear witness to their lives becoming better and easier, the government will continue to flatter to deceive.

As long as food does not become abundant and social security vastly improved, the government will continue to huff and puff to no avail.

Nigerians are not an insatiable and insufferable bunch, and that has been a calamitous disadvantage in what has been a torturous journey of nationhood. Where they should be demanding, they are rather docile and that is why politicians who would ordinarily be unfit to lead their families have led them down the garden path. Things can certainly improve.

It is urgent that the government brings a human face to its policies. It is vital that public policies should be channeled towards alleviating the plight of the poorest. The government should cut costs, channel the money into social security programs while genuinely combating corruption.
Nigerians have watched in horror as nascent social security programs have withered in the face of ceaseless corruption.

Nigeria is getting to a point of no return, and it is doubtful if prescriptions or palliatives can save a country seemingly destined to self-destruct.

Kene Obiezu,
keneobiezu@gmail.com