THE front pages of Nigeria’s dailies painted a grim picture of Nigeria yesterday. The Nigerian Tribune’s lead story was titled: Hardship protest: Chaos in Kano, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Yobe, Niger, Abuja. The riders were equally revealing: “Deaths recorded; govs impose 24-hour curfew in Kano, Borno, Yobe. Hoodlums burn APC Secretariat in Jigawa. Protesters storm Buhari’s house in Daura, suffer tear gas in Lekki. Peaceful protests in Oyo, Kebbi, Benue, Osun, Plateau.” It should be clear, even to the blind, that Nigeria’s flamboyant, rather playful President is deep in murky waters. The Nigerians who raged about fuel being N97 per litre in 2012 now buy it for at least N850. At the time, I wrote a back-page piece appealing for calm. As I write, thousands of protesters are on the streets denouncing Tinubu. As I did in 2012, I am now also calling for calm.
Let’s make a number of suggestions to help the president. Regardless of what our feelings about his politics or ideas may be, we owe the country a duty to help where we can. And that’s exactly what I propose to do here. To President Tinubu, I say most sincerely: bring down the cost of fuel and modify naira floatation. Look for a middle ground on both policies. That done, the tension in the country is going to ease. In removing subsidy on May 29, 2023, President Tinubu erred. His predecessor said he had made provisions for subsidy till the end of June 2023, and the president should have stuck to that arrangement. Here’s why Nigerians are protesting: the hike in PMS price led to unprecedented hikes in the cost of food and other things, such that today, there is no one hawking fresh yam or roast Titus in neighbourhoods. Puff puff looks like the smallest egg and with N500, you cannot get a bottle of Coca-Cola and egg roll. Many of the people I know told me they haven’t eaten yam in months. Those are things we used to take for granted even in our poverty. I am adopting a soft tone today in large part because of Tinubu’s humility and conciliatory tone in office.
President Tinubu should stop the illegal movement of fuel beyond Nigeria’s borders. Also, he should listen to his own wife and start sack farming right there in Aso Rock. Currently, I have budding peppers and onions in small bowls in my place. Even if it is N10,000 worth of pepper that we eventually get, it is something. It’s called smart farming. With the high cost of pepper now, you owe yourself a duty to plant something in a bowl, making sure the bottom is leaking so that your plant is not waterlogged. I saw some rude responses to Senator Tinubu’s harvest of vegetables in her Aso Rock mini-farm online, but I believe that the First Lady is absolutely correct in her campaign. If Aso Rock is growing its own food, it is communicating a message. As Nigerians, we can actually feed ourselves in little measures. That’s the point, and it is sound. Of course, the president should stop the onslaughts on farmers by terrorists. That is key to guaranteeing food security.
President Tinubu should give heavy support to his wife’s campaign and make sure Nigerians adopt smart farming. He should start a project called Farm Out Famine (FOF). With the help of governors, he should promote smart farming, letting people know that they can literally plant in the air, as it were. He should open the borders and let rice come in. If rice costs around N38,000, the tension in the country will die down. Eventually making sure that the new minimum wage can buy two bags of rice is key to calming the tension in the land.
FG, partner with select states on cattle ranching. Provide 30 percent funding while the states provide 70. Nigeria has experts to handle the project. Encourage state cattle revolution and enforce total ban on open grazing. President Tinubu, please modify the subsidy regime and keep PMS price at around N400. If the cost of petrol and food comes down, music will spring up in time. You can do it. Do it and damn the consequences. That will help a lot. Sack the NNPCL leadership; it can never deliver change. Place a total embargo on foreign trips in MDAs; sack violators immediately. Stop further loan taking; stick to a simple plan. Push for special status for Lagos: one percent of Nigeria’s revenue. Scrap useless agencies, like any federal agency on secondary school education. Place a ban on the use of foreign-made vehicles by MDAs. Set up whistle-blower scheme in FIRS, Customs, MDAs, and the harvest will be huge. Mandate all ministers to cancel ALL requests for new computers in budgets, and all vehicle requests. Let them repair and use the ones they have now. Sack erring ministers quickly.
President Tinubu, unleash state police immediately. That will help to tackle the onslaughts on Nigerians by terrorists of all hues. Working with state governments and key Igbo leaders, release Nnamdi Kanu on strict peace conditions. Strike a deal with him and make him Peace Ambassador: Asari Dokubo and Tompolo once took up arms against the Nigerian State.
I appeal to Nigerians to protest peacefully: we are poor and we should not worsen our poverty by burning down the country. Looting and arson in the name of protest is nothing but demonism. Finally, any governor that refuses to pay the new minimum wage should be impeached. He is an enemy of state. May President Tinubu weather the storm by making life easier in the land.
Re: Nigeria’s LGs: From confusion to more confusion
I am a taxi driver. I always read your articles. I am just a primary six certificate holder. I support your position on local governments. Many of the chairmen don’t do anything for the people. I do not support the Supreme Court’s position but there is nothing we can do (Isiaka Ajani a.k.a J5).
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