Psycho-analysing a President Under Pressure, by Zekeri Idakwo

The tone of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s address in this year’s Independence Day Celebration was not different from his last nationwide broadcast.

However, the mood of the nation before the broadcast was that of despair at worst and cautious optimism at best, and it was obvious President Tinubu knew this very well.

One could sense his display of humility and sensitivity in acknowledging the efforts of our founding fathers and fallen heroes as well as the rights of Nigerians to be treated equally irrespective of their socio-economic standing.

In the fourth paragraph, the President talked about the uniqueness of Nigeria as a country, and how our socio-cultural diversity can reshape our unity, peace and progress.

In the fifth paragraph, he addressed the difficulty in managing the multiplicity of ethnic groups in the country. In this paragraph, the President was trying to explain his
efforts in uniting the country in the aftermath of the tensed election even though he has been accused of nepotism and ‘Yorubanisation’ in the pattern of his appointments.

Then in the sixth paragraph, he mentioned Nigeria’s commitment to democratic governance which is impressive because the country has been on it since 1999 and the fourth republic has endured since then. But as we enjoy the dividends of democracy in terms of periodic elections, freedom of the press, freedom of speech and so on, the President must also ensure the country witnesses the dividends of good governance in the areas of economy, education, health, infrastructure etc, in his time.

The President also reiterated the promises he made during his inaugural address on May 29 and the crucial pronouncements on the economy.

Then again, like the last time, President Tinubu emphatically and compassionately acknowledged the hardship that accompanied fuel subsidy removal which had to be done because, according to him, some fat cats were merely eating from its corrupt proceeds.

He inadvertently called on Nigerians to be patient while his policies take shape. He equally talked about the pain Nigerians need to endure before the gain, that building a better Nigeria for all, required sacrifice and perseverance.

President Tinubu equally outlined his administration’s policy reforms to rebuild the economy especially his fiscal and monetary policy aimed at cushioning the current hardship (amidst speculations of his government paying fuel subsidy in secret) and insecurity in the country. And that includes the oil backed loans from AFRREXIM Bank which was meant to shore up the Naira but which is still hanging in the balance.

Mr President also strategically addressed organided Labour’s agitation by announcing the provisional wage increment of N25,000 for junior civil servants which was later increased to N35,000 and extended to all civil servants. This is the first of its kind in Nigeria to my understanding. It was a masterstroke which was key in convincing the labour leaders to suspend the indefinite strike action that would have crippled the economy beyond repair.

My worries though is the infrastructural fund for states, while this might sound good, what happened to the palliatives funds? Has it been properly accounted for? There should be proper monitoring to ensure effectiveness in implementation.

Another critical area of his speech is transportation and the new initiative of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles. He said these new plans cut across the entire country. But the information provided by the President was scanty. There was no mention of a particular number of vehicles to be deployed. Has he considered the issue of additional traffic congestion, especially cities like Lagos, and will the private-public transportation system bring down their prices? All these need to be put in proper perspectives.

More importantly, the issue of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the forex market seems to be getting worse by the day as the floating of the Naira seems not to be working yet. It is obvious that the country has to return to production and export so it can earn dollars in an organic manner and the forex market will be stable.

The President spoke about the rot in the CBN and he announced that special audit panel will soon unveil its findings as the former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, remains in detention for alleged sundry offences.

The President has however done and said little or nothing on the fight against corruption as the ant-graft agencies have turned to petty thieves and internet fraudsters. If President Tinubu is aware that there are some fat cats that are deep in official looting, then they should be brought to book. Enough of the talk. Nigerians want to see action.

In the area of tax reforms, besides the presidential tax reform committee which he inaugurated some months ago and his appointment of Zacch Adedeji as the acting Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the President and his team have shown in words and actions that they will block all leakages and work to massively increase the country’s non-oil revenue through taxation.

He equally hinted on the social safety net expansion to 15 million households, which is good but accountability remains an issue. There is no reliable data to justify government spending in this area.

The issue of security is crucial as the insecurity is getting worse by the day, especially in the north. His touch on this is sketchy. There seems to be a resurgence of banditry in the northern part of the country and killings by terrorists in the southeast. Businesses can only thrive in a stable and secure environment.

The President’s address was presidential and it served the purpose of assuring Nigerians of better days ahead and calling for patience and understanding as he tries to navigate the tough days of his first term in office.