Vice President Kashim Shettima in a report monitored on African Independent Television (AIT), blamed the protests that took place in some states recently as the handiwork of the opposition parties and those who see nothing good about the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He however, expressed optimism that Nigeria would surmount the present economic hardships, currently ravaging the country. While we say amen to his prayer that Nigeria would triumph in the end, it is also good to remind Mr. Vice President that Nigerians did not elect them into office to pass the buck, but rather to show capacity and make good their campaign promises than blaming the opposition parties that are not in leadership position. The expression of the Vice President is not strange to Nigerians.
In our clime, politicians are used to talking down on either the opposition or whoever they perceive as enemies of the state, instead of doing the bidding of the people and showing capacity after being elected into office. In Nigeria today, sadly, bad things happen in quick succession; increase in price of fuel, high cost of diesel, astronomical increase in the prices of food, high cost of transportation-inter and intra, high rate of the dollars, free fall of the naira, security challenge; leading to increased number of kidnap cases, and legions of unexplainable problems currently staring us in the face. For now, nobody is smiling.
The situation is dire and people can no longer feed because the prices of food items have hit the roof top, with a bag of rice, the most common food consumed in every home, now going for as high as seventy-five thousand naira (#75,000). What is worrisome however, is that there is no concrete plan at the moment to reverse the troubling situation about the failing economy, but instead, the blame game and excuses are what we harvest from the managers of the economy. Let the government understand that the people are suffering.
More than ever before, the hunger in the land is impacting negatively on the psyche of the people. Those who think that the protests are sponsored should look around their environment and listen to what the people are saying. Equally, the hike in imported commodities, again has increased the prices of staple foods, including machinery, pharmaceutical equipment, among others. Already, the manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), recently raised the alarm that the unstable state of the forex on import duties will adversely affect the ease of doing business in the country.
This also means that more companies may exit Nigeria owing to harsh policies of government and lack of direction by the managers of the economy, so to speak. To avoid the gathering storm, history beckons on the renewed hope government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to rise to the occasion and ensure that food sufficiency and wealth creation which he promised Nigerians becomes a reality. Eminent Nigerians, including religious groups have warned on the dangers if the situation continues as it is today.
For example, the Sultan of Sokoto and Chairman of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council, His Eminence Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the 6th Executive Committee Meeting of the Royal Fathers in Kaduna last week, described the situation in Nigeria as troubling, and warned about the danger that lay ahead if the situation is not mitigated by the government. However, the scarcity of the naira and dollar cannot be blamed on the struggling masses. Obviously, it’s those that have money that certainly have the capacity to hoard the currencies as it is the case today in Nigeria.
The grandstanding of government, or shifting of blames in this time of severe hunger and hardship would not bring relief to the people, but concerted efforts by the ruling party to turn things around. During the eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, the government remained adamant and stood aloof from the people. We call on the President Tinubu administration to read in between the lines, rather than reducing the genuine, legitimate and constitutionally guaranteed demands of the people as being sponsored by the opposition parties.
In all, the economy needs good policies, capable of taking us out of the doldrum we find ourselves. Above all, the time for politics is over. Those elected should wake up to their responsibilities and stop passing the buck. Nigerians are dying of hunger and many more will kick the bucket if the government truly, cannot see! The time to act is now!