By Richard Asoge

In anticipation to get the economy fixed for growth and development after some years of cankerworm, corruption and leakages, Nigerians came out putting aside propaganda on Saturday, February 25th, 2023 and voted relatively for the presidential candidate of All Progressive Party (APC), Bola Tinubu. The support he got from the people was not unconnected to the way he had built bridges among people of different culture, religion and ethnic groups, how he remodel Lagos during his tenure as governor between 1999 and 2007 and most importantly, how his political wizardry will turn the fortune of the country for good if eventually elected president.

The declaration of ‘subsidy is gone’ in the inaugural speech on May 29th, 2023 by President Bola Tinubu may be a landmark decision considering what had happened in the past in the oil sector but the policy effect thereafter was weighty. Nobody ever thought it can go so deep and far this way before the desired results will be achieved or that the policy effect will be evaluated after some weeks of implementation to consider initiating another policy to absorb, to some extent, the negative effect of the sudden and total subsidy removal on petrol but this was not really so.

While grappling with the effect of the fuel subsidy removal, within two weeks, unification of exchange rate took its stand. Of course, no right-thinking Nigerian having the knowledge of how very few but connected ones were eaten fat from the common patrimony of the nation which persistently made the foreign reserve to nosedive would oppose the unification of exchange rate. The twin effects of the fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification with insecurity without another policy measure within three or six months to crowd-out these effects brought us to this ugly situation we find ourself today.

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We have never had it so high and rapid as far as inflation is concerned in the last 28years. Going by what National Bureau of Statistics published for May 2024 (year on year basis), inflation is 33.95 percent. Breaking it down further into components, food was the most dreaded among them with 40.66 percent on a year on year basis. Agricultural produce is fast declining as a result of insecurity in the hinterland and tropical forests. To make things worse, the current generation of youth do not see faming as a vocation worthy of practicing but spending productive hours on social media.

There is a strong connection between diet and illness. The more nutritious your food is, the higher the immune system to resist any sickness. The current outbreak of cholera in most of the states is traceable to consumption of junks. Average income of individual is far below what can keep life together. Naira has lost its purchasing power and has led many to consume half rotten if not totally rotten foods. Hunger reflects on the faces of individual with no end in sight. An hungry man is an angry man, goes an African proverb. Poverty is getting wider. Only God knows the current position Nigeria occupies among hunger nations. In 2023 it ranked 109 of the 125 selected countries with 28.3percent in the hunger index.

One of the things highlighted to bring relieve to commuters was conversion of vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) type. How many vehicles have been successfully converted to CNG? and what is the ratio to the population of vehicles? One year has gone now with no significant success in the conversion ratio to the 2027 target.

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Before oil dominated the structure of Nigeria economy, internal factors determined prices of goods and services and not external factors like exchange rate. Recently, crypto currency and related activities joined the external factors. The more an economy is linked to foreign transaction for survival, the higher the risk politically, socially and economically. Believing and placing our local goods and services above foreign ones is a sure cure.

To fight hunger and bring down the foods’ prices, real action of all is needed. Ministry of Agriculture or Departments related to agriculture across the tiers of government must practice agriculture in full scale. Local government, been the closest to the people, must practice farming as their leading business ventures. For those that may not have land to practice, it is not bad to have memorandum of understanding with the neighboring local government or state. In year 2016, Lagos State followed that path during the tenure of Akinwumi Ambode as governor by having an arrangement with Kebbi State under the leadership of Atiku Bagudu in the production of rice branded as ‘Lake Rice’. Other states or entity can copy such model and fine tune it if needed and bring something good out of it. No state is idle without having comparative advantage in one area over others. Continuity of policy is our greatest enemy. Lake Rice production only lasted for six years and nothing of such is heard thereafter.

Now that the revenue of various tiers of government has substantially increased, it shouldn’t be an avenue for political office holders to increase their entitlements at the expense of majority whose activities generated the revenue but opportunity to close deficit gaps of basic infrastructure. This takes me to the new minimum wage being negotiated between Federal Government and Nigeria Labour Congress with other concerned parties. N62,000 been offered as minimum wage by Federal Government or N100,000 been canvassed for by many analysts shouldn’t be the primary concern of most Nigerians but the sustainability and the value of every naira in the market place. if N100,000 or more is sealed and gazette today as new minimum wage but only to realize after two months that $1 goes for N4,000 and every other price of local items assumes exponential rise including items that do not have any foreign input, will it make economic sense? Definitely, none. Another negotiation may not come up until five years. This is why price stability should be a serious concern.

Hope of average Nigerian is renewed when there is food on the table and price stability is ensured.

Richard Asoge
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chards001@gmail.com