To say Nigerians are going through harrowing experiences today is only stating the obvious. For many families, everyday presents challenges that are further pushing them to the brink. How people survive in the midst of these escalating cost of living is best imagined.
Tracing the cause or reason for these hardships may be subject to debate but what cannot be contested is the fact that whoever aspires to that office of the president is expected to not only come to terms with that reality, but also must be prepared to walk the talk and deliver on promises made.
Nigeria is like a patient suffering severe hemorrhage and solving that problem would mean to first stop the bleeding before the patient bleeds to death. That we have been reckless and unconscionable in governance is legendary. Therefore, any serious government must as a matter of urgency think first of how to stop that profligacy so that available scarce resources can be better used to address critical issues and not frivolities or issues that may not be of immediate importance or relevance.
With headline Inflation Rate currently at 33.95 percent in May from 33.69 percent in April of 2024, marking the highest reading since March 1996, there is no telling the impact of these on the people. These figures came amid a further rise in fuel prices after the government removed subsidies and currency weakness. Food inflation, which accounts for the bulk of Nigeria’s inflation basket, surged to a record high of 40.66% in May, compared to April’s reading of 40.53%.
The cost of living is daily rising and dwarfing available income and resources. The amount of cash needed to cater for basic expenses, e.g. healthcare, housing, food, taxes, and transportation are daily becoming unbearable, yet more and more people remain unemployed or underemployed.
Granted that these may be a global phenomenon that is not exclusive to the country, we have to realise that in the midst of these stark realities we can hardly afford the recklessness and profligacy that have characterised governance in the country for a very long time.
The effect of all of these is that a lot of Nigerians are now turned into beggars and those with resources to spare are daily besieged with requests from families, friends and sometimes total strangers. When a family begs for as little as N3000, it is obvious that would be for feeding and with a cup of beans currently selling for N2000, how far can that money go?
Now with the Federal Government and labour, and our recalcitrant and obstinate state governors in a minimum wage increase logjam, it remains to be seen how civil servants whose salaries are pegged at N30,000 can transport themselves to and from their offices and survive with their families.
With Nigerians currently living on the brink, any allusion or inclination to spending humongous resources around government and its officials would naturally draw flak from the people who are suffering deprivation, no matter how expedient or important such an expenditure may be.
Last week, the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in his usual devil-may-care disposition, dismissed report of a planned purchase of aircraft for the presidential fleet by saying, “As we sit here, a section of the social media had also been circulating that we had gone into an executive session to discuss the presidential request for a new plane and how we are going to approve it. Let me alert Nigerians that there is the presence of a fifth columnist and some other propagandists who are doing everything possible to destabilise this country and also destabilise the parliament. As the leader of this Senate, I say for the record that there is no request before us as of yet.”
The presidency too has also alluded that those who are against the purchase are wishing the president dead. How can? But sincerely, does the presidency and Senate expect anything else from a people that may not know where their next meals would be coming from?
The president of any country, including Nigeria, must be guaranteed comfort and safety. That is given. It would not be in the interest of the nation to expose our president to danger or to suffer unnecessarily, just to portray himself as leading a spartan life, but it must also be noted and appreciated by those who make these statements that no explanation on the need for such a purchase can make any meaning to a hungry man.
Therefore, dismissing comments against the purchase in this manner is to say the least, insensitive. Nobody wants the president dead but it will take superior arguments and reasoning to convince the people of the need for the expenditure, not dismissing them as enemies; the very same reason that President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime failed.
Again, the news of the alleged plan to purchase is also coming against the backdrop of the N21 billion reportedly spent on the residence of the Vice President Kashim Shettima which was commissioned early in June by President Tinubu and the over N90 billion spent on subsidising Pilgrimage, etc.
President Tinubu had stated during the commissioning that the provision of suitable residence for the Vice-President was not merely a matter of convenience but a symbol of respect for the office and the individuals who occupy it.
Tinubu, represented by Shettima, reaffirmed the unwavering dedication of his administration to the principles of accountability, transparency and efficient utilisation of resources for the betterment of the country.
The president added that the completion of the project was a testimony to the respect and affection that the President has for the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Shettima said the commissioning was part of its plan to deliver on the promises made to the Nigerian people in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda which has the completion of inherited projects, as one of its cardinal objectives.
It is difficult to convince the people that a government that is broke would prioritise the speedy completion of the vice president’s residence at a time like this when the same government cannot pay a minimum wage of more than N62,000.
Again, is the vice president deserving of a befitting residence? Absolutely. But who talks about befitting and luxury residence in the midst of hunger and insecurity? Why the rush?
What President Tinubu must know is that whereas some of these projects may be desirable, the timing might just not be right.
Talking about comfort for legislators, judges, the presidency, pilgrims and political office holders in isolation while arguing that the nation is broke to pay workers cannot fly. If the current reality demands that we make sacrifices, it must be for all, not expeditiously pursuing comfort for some while foot dragging for others. A hungry man is an angry man. Nigerians are hungry and furious.
