Victor Ezeja
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has expressed regret over the unfortunate outcome of the nationwide protests in some states in the country, especially the loss of lives in Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna and other states, and the destruction of public facilities, and looting of valuables.
The president stated this on Sunday morning while addressing Nigerians who are protesting the rising hunger and economic hardship in the country.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelHis address comes four days after Nigerians, mostly youths, embarked on a 10-day nationwide protest against the rising cost of living crisis in the country.
The exercise, which started peacefully on the morning of Thursday, 1st August, later turned violent in about 17 states, with the death toll said to have reached 21, about 175 people injured and over 1,000 arrested by law enforcement agents.
Curfew has been declared in states like Kano, Borno, and Yobe, where extreme violence, and looting have been recorded.
Tinubu said: “I am especially pained by the loss of lives in Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna and other states, the destruction of public facilities in some states, and the wanton looting of supermarkets and shops, contrary to the promise of protest organisers that the protest would be peaceful across the country.”
He commiserated with families and relations of those who have died in the protests, adding that “We must stop further bloodshed, violence and destruction.”
He said the destruction of properties sets the country back, as scarce resources will be used to restore them.
Tinubu appealed to Nigerians to withdraw from the streets and embrace peace and unity, adding that he is ready for dialogue.
The president said he understands the pain and frustration of Nigerians and is focused on stabilising the economy.
The Nigerian leader claimed that some individuals have a clear political agenda to tear the country apart and in line with his constitutional oath to protect the lives and property of every citizen, his government will not stand to allow such to happen.
“Under the circumstances, I hereby enjoin protesters and the organisers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue, which I have always acceded to at the slightest opportunity,” he stated.
He said Nigeria requires that all must work together for progress irrespective of age, gender, party, religion or ethnic differences.
The president also warned those who are taking undue advantage of the situation created by the nationwide protests to threaten any section of the country to desist before they are caught, saying there is no room for ethnic bigotry in the new Nigeria his government seeks to build.
“Our democracy progresses when the constitutional rights of every Nigerian are respected and protected,” the president further stated, and charged law enforcement agents to continue to ensure full protection of lives and properties of innocent citizens “in a responsible manner.”
Tinubu’s Economic Reforms
Tinubu highlighted efforts being made by his administration to put the country on the path to economic prosperity.
He said he embarked on economic reforms such as petrol subsidy removal, foreign exchange system harmonisation “which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress.”
The president claimed that his reforms have blocked undue gains made by greedy smugglers and rent-seekers for decades in the form of undue subsidies and unfavourable exchange rates.
“These decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well,” Tinubu insisted.
Revenue hits ₦9.1 trillion in H1 2024
Tinubu disclosed that the Federal Government’s aggregate revenues have hit over ₦9.1 trillion in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023 due to efforts at blocking leakages, automation of revenue collection, and creative mobilisation of funds without additional burden on the people.
READ ALSO: Full Text Of President Tinubu’s Address On The Nationwide Protest
Speaking on debt burden, the president said about 97 per cent of the country’s revenue was being spent on debt servicing when he came into office but has been reduced to 68 per cent in the last 13 months.
“We have also cleared legitimate outstanding foreign exchange obligations of about $5 billion without any adverse impact on our programmes.”
These, he said, have given the country a measure of financial freedom to be able to invest more on essential social services like education and healthcare and also allocate more funds to states, and local governments from the Federation Account.
He also highlighted major infrastructure projects across the country embarked on by his administration such as construction of roads, bridges, railways, power, and oil and gas developments.
Empowering SMEs, Large Manufacturers For Economic Growth
He mentioned other programmes aimed at empowering the youths and granting access to education such as disbursement of funds for student loans, skill acquisition in IT and other areas.
Speaking on efforts to cushion economic hardship faced by Nigerians, Tinubu said ₦750 billion has been released to the 36 states to expand livelihood support to their citizens, while 600,000 nano-businesses have benefitted from nano-grants. “An additional 400,000 more nano-businesses are expected to benefit,” he added.
READ ALSO: Protests: Tinubu’s Government Must Do The Ordinary Things
He also mentioned that the government has processed 75,000 SMEs to receive ₦1 million under the Micro and Small Business single-digit interest loans, starting this month.
He also said that payments of N1 billion each to large manufacturers are also being made under the single-digit loan scheme as promised earlier to boost manufacturing output and stimulate economic growth.
Tinubu also hinted that as part of measure to boost agriculture and food production, the federal government has the ordered the importation of mechanised farming equipment such as tractors and planters from Belaru, United States and Brazil.
He therefore enjoined Nigerians to be patient for his administration’s reforms to bear fruits, adding that the citizens should not allow anyone to deceive them that the government doesn’t care about their welfare.
