Nigeria’s President Tinubu: Reflections on One Year in Office

Bodunrin Adebo, Public Affairs Analyst

Today, May 29, 2024 marks one year in office for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President of Nigeria. Some may ask, and so what? It is common knowledge the president won the 2023 election with just 6.3 million votes out of 93 million voting population. The outcome of the election has left the country deeply polarized on many fronts and some argue we have the least popular or liked president in recent times. But as it is typical of milestones like this, the administration in recent days is beating its drum of success. Over the weekend, the president at the launch of road infrastructure projects in Lagos said with relish it was his “day to brag”. Likewise, cabinet ministers have been taking turn to tell Nigerians what they have achieved over the last nine months they have been in office. And to add icing to the cake, the President will present a “State of the Union” (or Republic) address to a joint sitting of the National Assembly to mark the anniversary. This is the first for the country. Whichever way one looks at it, the stock taking and public engagement activities seem commendable in a country where it is not common practice for political leaders and officials to be accountable to its citizens. We hope this will become the norm going forward.

The inaugural anniversary is an opportunity to ask important questions. What do Nigerians think of the performance of the Tinubu administration and what should be the basis of evaluating the government?

The President campaigned on the premise of a “Renewed Hope Agenda” mantra. The campaign manifesto set an objective ‘to foster a new society based on shared prosperity, tolerance, compassion, and the unwavering commitment to treating each citizen with equal respect and due regard. He promised that if given the mandate, to “build a Nigeria, especially for our youth, where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life. The government will manufacture, create, and invent more of the goods and services we require. Nigeria shall be known as a nation of creators, not just of consumers.” The government promised to “hit the ground running” and will not be afraid to take tough decisions to correct the lethargic eight year rule of his predecessor, General Muhammadu Buhari.

The government deserves its flowers for taking off on a quick march note taking some tough decisions. The government took no time to introduce measures correcting distortions in the economy, liberalizing power generation and access to student loans. That is perhaps as good as it gets in terms of “achievements”.

The off -the- cuff approach of removing fuel subsidy shows the lack of strategy to drive a vision. The president took the decision without consulting with citizens and key sectors of the economy, but it argued the decision was taken to free up financial resources for other sectors of the economy and channel development to other needed infrastructures in the economy. But the negative implications of the subsidy removal has far outweighed whatever argument for doing it. Subsidy removal has slowed economic growth, created massive inflation( particularly food prices), increased poverty, increased petroleum prices and crime as well as loss of jobs in both the formal and informal sectors. For a president that stated pre-inauguration ” let the poor breathe”, it was expected a thorough analysis of palliative actions to remedy negative implications of economic reforms on citizen would have been done prior. For example, the government could have taken the issue of transportation- a major component of inflation, seriously. Over the last twelve months, the cost of petrol has increased by over 205 percent in some areas and this has led to over 200 percent increase in the cost of transportation for humans, farm produce, goods and services. For good or bad, the story of the subsidy removal may as well become the legacy the Tinubu administration will be most remembered for long after it has ended.

Government and leaders are evaluated on the basis of their vision and the strategy to drive it. The Tinubu administration has failed to properly articulate an inclusive, unifying vision underpinning its reform measures and actions. Nigerians yearn to know what the vision of the government is and how it ends to move the people from point A to B with timelines. Selling a package of hope is not bad, but it is never enough to propel change. As it stands, the preponderance of view of Nigerians suggests the promise of renewed hope is giving way to renewed hopelessness.

It is too early for the Tinubu government to brag or count gains. There is nothing to celebrate if Nigerians cannot afford to feed themselves and their families, earn a dignified wage and other basic needs of life. The government need to urgently prioritize taking actions that ease the burden economic hardships the people are saddled with. They must take the matter of revaluating the implementation of palliatives to cushion the very adverse effect of subsidy removal to make it reach down to its citizens.