Hardship: Nigerians back Atiku’s claims

On Monday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, came down hard on the All Progressives Congress, APC-led government of President Bola Tinubu, insisting that the prevailing economic hardship in the country was a direct outcome of Tinubu’s incoherent plan, a development he equally attributed to the President’s hasty assumption of power without a clear cut policy direction.

Atiku was responding to the Presidency’s dismissal of his earlier submission on Sunday, regarding what he would have done differently if he had won the 2023 presidential election to keep the economy in a good standing.

He had insisted that the Federal Government cannot tax its way out of the present economic crisis in the country.

In a statement, “What we would have done differently,” Atiku had criticised the way the Federal Government managed the fuel subsidy removal, as well as the fiscal and monetary policies of President Tinubu’s administration, and outlined a set of policies he could have pursued if he were the President.

However, reacting through the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency dismissed Atiku’s alternatives, saying it was lacking in detail.

Onanuga noted that had the former Vice President won the 2023 presidential polls, he would have plunged the country into a worse economic situation or overseen a regime of cronyism.

Atiku was quoted to have said: “Like many fellow Nigerians, I firmly believe that we find ourselves in this current economic turmoil due to the current administration’s hasty ascent to power, devoid of a coherent plan.

“In stark contrast, my team not only devised a comprehensive recovery plan, but also welcomed significant input from Nigerians, ensuring that our approach was inclusive and well-considered.

“Is it not fascinating how the so-called tested Tinubu administration’s only policy response seems to be a national prayer led by the First Lady and the National Security Adviser, NSA, just a mere 24 hours after I proposed my alternative solutions? What a bold strategy!”

He mocked the Tinubu’s administration for its failures to address the hardship in the land, saying, “While prayer is a noble path to follow, the scriptures prescribe diligent labour and hard work.”

He maintained that many countries have emerged as strong economies by encouraging economic growth through low taxes, and wondered why Tinubu’s government was fixated on inflicting further hardship upon an already struggling populace.

“We cannot hope to tax our way out of the economic quagmire wrought by these misguided experimental policies of a novice administration.

“Numerous nations, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Monaco, among many others, have emerged as economic powerhouses by fostering growth through lower taxation.

“One can only speculate that Tinubu’s government is anchored to a mere Tea-plan, which can only lead to a T-pain.

“Furthermore, let me emphasise that the citizens who cast their votes in the 2023 presidential election are well aware that I did not lose; rather, we found ourselves in this predicament because the election was criminally stolen from the Nigerian people.

“It is, therefore, uncharitable for Tinubu’s team to claim that my proposals remained untested. What remains unproven is the erratic, trial-and-error nature of the policies so far implemented by this administration, which elucidates our present predicament,” he submitted.

The former vice president went ahead to buttress his argument with what he had done in the past, while in government.

He said: “Let us not forget that under our economic stewardship between 1999 and 2003, Nigeria soared to the pinnacle of Africa’s economies, while their administration has relegated us to a disheartening fourth position.

“The average GDP rate under the Obasanjo administration that I served in was 6.59 percent and peaked at 15 percent in 2002; 7.98 percent under the late Yar’Adua administration and 4.8 percent under Jonathan compared to the dismal 2.8 percent of the so-called “tested” Tinubu era.”

Painting a picture of what Nigeria has become in recent time, a Katsina State-based educationist, Mallam Sabiu Fago said: “The cloud is gathering and becoming darker by the day. Danger lurks around as hunger and starvation bite harder.

“Nigerians are running out of patience with the government, and if urgent steps are not taken to arrest the ugly trend, something disastrous might happen.

“The people are saying that they can no longer bear the pains of the government’s economic policies, which have made life unbearable and hellish for them.

“They said most households can no longer afford to buy food in the market as prices keep rising at an astronomical rate and on a daily basis; a situation they claimed has rendered them less than humans.

“Prices of staple foods like maize, rice, millet, guinea corn, garri and other food items, like beans, have all hit the roof top, such that hunger and starvation have become the order of the day.

“To make matters worse, the people are also under heavy attacks by various armed groups, ranging from Boko Haram Islamists sect to Fulani herdsmen militia, bandits and kidnappers, without any hope in sight. Kidnapping for ransom has become a big business.”

He likened the current realities in Nigeria to an English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes’ picture of a state of nature where life is poor, nasty, short and brutish.

Throwing his weight behind the former vice president, a former lawmaker in Katsina State, Yusuf Shehu agreed that Nigerians were actually passing through hell due to the thoughtless economic policies of the current administration, particularly the removal of subsidy on petrol products, without an alternatives arrangement to cushion its effect on the masses.

“Atiku is right in what he has said. How can the president just announce that the subsidy was gone even when he had not entered the office to even see the books and study them?

“No visionary leader will make a policy pronouncement without first looking through the books to even understand what the problems are.

“If you check very well, you will agree with me that from that very moment when he made that announcement on May 29, 2023, till today, Nigerians have known no peace. It has been suffering all the way and I don’t even see a sign of respite in the nearest future.

“So, Atiku is 100 percent correct in what he has said, and I would advise the Presidency to look inward and see what it can do to change the economic fortunes of Nigerians rather than attacking Atiku or dismissing his suggestions.”

He wondered why Tinubu has not been able to bring the Port Harcourt Refinery to operation since he removed subsidy from petrol.

“One would think that the President, having pronounced that the subsidy was gone, would do everything possible to fix our refineries.

“Recall that since he assumed office, Nigerians have been told, at least four times, that the PH Refinery would be operational at four different times, but none of the promises ever materialised; it has been all politics. We can’t continue like this,” he stated.

He warned that Atiku’s statement should be taken seriously to avert possible danger.

He said: “Imagine the situation before Buhari came to power and the situation today; it is an embarrassment. We are already sitting on a time bomb.

“The protests that happened in countries like Kenya will be a child’s play compared to what will likely come out from the northern part of the country when the people feel they have been pushed to the wall and they can no longer bear the hardship.

“Don’t forget that over time, the north has suffered from poverty, hunger, deprivation and a lot of other ills from our so-called leaders, who never and probably may never look out for the welfare of their people as their paramount responsibilities.

“Under this situation, you don’t expect people to respect the law. People cannot be kept under this atmosphere and you expect things to be good.

“People cannot be in this situation and you expect the crime rate to be low. It is going to be worse because everybody is going to be a victim whether you are rich or poor.

“So, the earlier the government realises the poverty of the situation and brings a short term solution, shoving bureaucracy aside, the better for all of us, otherwise we will wake up one day, and there will be no country called Nigeria.”

President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr Pogu Bitrus, also agreed with Atiku, saying that the current administration’s twin economic policies of subsidy removal from petrol and floating of the Naira were responsible for the hardship in the land.

“I am surprised that the presidency would be attacking Atiku for saying he would have done better with the economy if he were the president.

“I don’t know if he would have done better, anyway, but the truth remains that the current administration’s economic policies are anti-people.

“There is no way things will be the same with the subsidy removal. You can’t just do that without adequate alternative arrangements like fixing the existing refineries in the country, so that at least, importation of fuel will stop, and expect things not to get tough for the masses.

“If we are not importing fuel, that is if we are refining fuel locally, the price would automatically crash and it would also spread to every aspect of the people’s lives,” he told DAILY POST.

Also speaking, Abdullahi Fago, an educationist based in Maiduwa Local Government Area of Katsina State, equally agreed with Atiku’s position.

He advised the presidency to concentrate on providing good governance to the people, instead of tackling people who express honest opinions about the true situation of things in the country.

He lamented that there is acute hunger across Nigeria; a situation he said has been worsened by the growing insecurity in the country.

He, however, warned that if the government does not respond urgently to halt the trend, it would escalate to something more worrisome.

“A stitch in time saves nine. The government should do everything possible to avoid the looming danger.

“They should not allow the situation to degenerate beyond what is currently on ground, otherwise, what would follow is what nobody can imagine accurately,” he warned.

A Lagos-based lawyer and public affairs analyst, Marcellus Onah, equally condemned the Presidency’s reaction to Atiku’s comment, saying “Atiku was just speaking the minds of Nigerians.

“He is just stating the obvious. Who doesn’t know that the current hardship was caused by the fuel subsidy removal and the floating of Naira?

“There was so much hope for this government but unfortunately, this is what we get. People are suffering.

“People are dying of hunger everyday and crime is on the increase due to poverty and lack of legitimate job opportunities, especially for the youth.

“My heart bleeds when I see people roaming to find food unsuccessfully for their families,” he said.