Victor EzejaNigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has called on Nigerians to endure the current economic hardship caused by ongoing reforms of his administration such as petrol subsidy removal and foreign exchange policy overhaul.
In his Sunday morning address on the occasion of the nation’s 63rd independence anniversary, President Tinubu said he is aware of the impact on the citizens but the reforms are necessary to put the nation on the right economic footing in the long-term.
He stated that allowing the fuel subsidy and the foreign exchange policies he met on the ground upon assumption of office to remain is akin to building a house on a faulty foundation.
“At my inauguration, I made important promises about how I would govern this great nation. Among those promises, were pledges to reshape and modernize our economy and to secure the lives, liberty, and property of the people.
“ I said that bold reforms were necessary to place our nation on the path of prosperity and growth. On that occasion, I announced the end of the fuel subsidy.
“I am attuned to the hardships that have come. I have a heart that feels and eyes that see. I wish to explain to you why we must endure this trying moment. Those who sought to perpetuate the fuel subsidy and broken foreign exchange policies are people who would build their family mansion in the middle of a swamp. I am different. I am not a man to erect our national home on a foundation of mud. To endure, our home must be constructed on safe and pleasant ground.
“Reform may be painful, but it is what greatness and the future require. We now carry the costs of reaching a future in Nigeria where the abundance and fruits of the nation are fairly shared among all, not hoarded by a select and greedy few. A Nigeria where hunger, poverty and hardship are pushed into the shadows of an ever-fading past.
“There is no joy in seeing the people of this nation shoulder burdens that should have been shed years ago. I wish today’s difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future,” President Tinubu stated.
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The Nigerian leader said his administration has embarked on several public sector reforms to stabilize the economy, direct fiscal and monetary policy to tackle inflation, “encourage production, ensure the security of lives and property and lend more support to the poor and the vulnerable.”
Tinubu further disclosed that as part of short-term measures to lessen the current hardship, his government has held discussions with organised labour, businesses, and other stakeholders to introduce a “provisional wage increment to enhance the federal minimum wage without causing undue inflation.”
According to the president, the government, under this arrangement, would pay an additional N25,000 to low-grade workers for the next six months.
He also disclosed that the government has set up an Infrastructure Support Fund for states to invest in critical areas as a way of fostering grassroots development.
He also highlighted efforts being made to deploy Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses across the nation to lowering transport costs in the face of high fuel costs as a result of subsidy removal.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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