Onwuasoanya FCC Jones
I read that security operatives used guns, teargas and batons to disperse some citizens who trooped out in Minna to protest the rising cost of living in Nigeria, and I said that the security operatives could only succeed in sending those citizens home if they were not hungry enough. It will be impossible to stop hungry citizens from venting their anger on the system even if you turn nozzles of ak47 on them. Many of the protesters might prefer to die than return home to meet their children crying over hunger and being unable to provide for them.
The pangs of the prevailing economic hardship in the country affect everyone, including the rich. It is only that the rich find it easier to cope than the poor, but no one likes to spend more than he is used to, no matter how wealthy they are. The economic hardship does not also discriminate between APC member and PDP member or between civilians and members of the Armed Forces, all of us are victims of the frightening economic situation.
Unless you do not buy things from the market or you do not do any kind of business, you would definitely be frustrated with the turn our economy has taken. You could buy something this moment from one shop and return the next day to see that the price of the same product has doubled or in some cases tripled. Services are also affected, because those who render various services also buy from the same inflation riddled market and would have to raise their charges in order to stay afloat.
President Bola Tinubu might mean well with his economic ideas, but no matter how well he means, and no matter how fantastic his economic ideas might be, he has to understand that the people’s interest must be paramount. The people cannot be going to bed hungry and he wants us to believe that everything is alright or expect all of us to endure for too long. It is more frustrating when it is obvious that those in government have continued to live as if they descended from a higher planet from ordinary or private citizens.
Leadership is about empathy and when an ordinary citizen cannot comfortably afford a good meal, yet sees those in government wasting food and hardworking entrepreneurs cannot conveniently pull through on the simplest business ideas they gave, yet government officials are purchasing exotic bulletproof cars and other things they don’t really need, then, the country is a time bomb which will explode in a matter of time.
I often argue that Nigerians are the easiest people on earth to rule, because they do not expect too much from government. I do not think there is any other country in the world where citizens can bear the sudden spike in prices of basic commodities and services like Nigerians have experienced in the last few months, yet, apart from a few murmuring here and some jovial lamentations at newspaper stands, we keep moving as if nothing happened.
The President has, in fairness to him, taken some steps that show him as being empathetic to Nigerians, even though some of his welfare packages were hijacked by corrupt government officials and irresponsible lawmakers. However, the President needs to do more. The distribution of rice and other handouts is good but is not sustainable. If this continues for longer, Nigeria might turn to a large agonising field camp of internally displaced persons. The President needs to think out of the box.
The most important thing the President needs to do is to raise the people’s confidence in government. Deliberate steps should be taken to earn the trust of the people. One way this can be done is by drastically cutting down on the cost of running government. Government officials must not be seen as being immune to the economic hardship ravaging the country. Steps should be taken to cut down on the ostentatiousness of public officials and corrupt officials must be promptly punished, else, Nigerians would believe that they are being made to suffer in order to fund the extravagance of those in government.
SMEs should be supported. No country thrives with a government subsidised and highly supported SME. One quick way the Tinubu administration can expedite its support for the SMEs is by forgiving all loans collected by verified SMEs, which is less than five million Naira, and opening opportunities for easy and low interest loans to these SMEs. The CBN must pressure politicians who diverted nirsal loans meant for households and small businesses to refund those loans quickly. The President can set up a special tribunal to try lawmakers and politicians who are found culpable in the diversion of these loan facilities and the pandemic palliatives.
One of the sectors that contribute significantly to Nigeria’s foreign exchange is the Nigerian film industry. I have colleagues in Nollywood who make nothing less than 500,000 Dollars monthly from uploading their films on YouTube. The Nigerian film industry is responsible for bringing in nothing less than 50,000,000 Dollars into Nigerian banks monthly, while the other social media content creators, like skit makers and musicians might be bringing in more than double of this amount. Deliberate efforts should be made to channel government resources towards supporting young people to operate in that sector.
There should also be tax holiday for SMEs whose total worth is less than 100 Million Naira. This tax holiday can be for ten years in the first instance, in order to allow these businesses to stabilise and contribute more to the Nigerian economy. The reality is that an adequately supported SME can do a lot in helping reduce pressure from government, especially, in the area of employment.
There have been appreciable improvement in power supply in good parts of the country, but more needs to be done. Constant supply of power will go a long way in relieving business owners of expenses in running their businesses, and increase the profitability of their businesses. All bottlenecks delaying the taking off of different power projects in Nigeria, especially, private sector driven initiatives like the Geometric Power idea of Professor Barth Nnaji and his partners in Aba.
Without security, businesses will not thrive. The President seems not to have got the right ideas yet on how to arrest the steadily declining security situation in the country. It is true that there is no country in the world without security challenges but Nigeria must not be seen as a country that pampers terrorists and criminals. If there is a strong political will to deal with those behind the insecurity in the country, it will be obvious and this will gain the confidence of international business investors and encourage them to plough their investments to Nigeria, thereby reducing unemployment.
Finally, the President must insist on strengthening the institutions of government and make sure that the rules governing businesses are adhered to. This will go a long way in encouraging business growth and attracting more investors into our economy. Nothing attracts good investors more than the assurance that their investments would be secure and that there are good legal frameworks to ensure that business agreements and investment securities are not flouted without consequences.
May Nigeria Prevail!
