LAWRENCE OLAOYE writes on achievements of President Bola Tinubu in the last two years, and challenges ahead as he begins his third year in office
When Asiwaju Bola Tinubu resolved to contest the nation’s presidential election in 2023, he probably may not have envisaged the enormity of the challenges awaiting him. Against all odds, he eventually contested and won the election only to be availed the depth of rot inherent in the system.
However, the President has repeatedly urged Nigerians not to pity him because he begged for the job and must fix the rot. He pledged to confront the challenges head-on by rebuilding trust, fostering prosperity, and restoring the nation’s economic health.
Undoubtedly, the President resumed at a time the nation’s security situation was scary with the economy tottering towards the precipice. Though his predecessor tried to confront the rampaging insurgents in the North-East, the Boko Haram insurgents percolated to other ungoverned places across the country to continue their nefarious activities.
The insurgents have since mutated into bandits and kidnappers, making life intolerable for the citizens nationwide. According to United Nations (UN) estimates, about 350,000 persons have been killed directly or indirectly, and over two million persons displaced in the North-East since the advent of Boko Haram insurgency in 2009.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, at a recent event in Abuja, highlighted Tinubu’s achievements in the security sector by reeling out data, indicating that the nation is making outstanding progress in the fight against insurgency, banditry and kidnapping.
He said 13,500 terrorists, bandits and kidnappers have been neutralized and 252,596 ammunition recovered in the last two years. He disclosed further that 124,408 Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters, family members surrendered to the Nigerian Army.
According to him, highways, hitherto dangerous for travellers, have become safer and security agencies have, on several occasions, succeeded in rescuing abducted citizens from their abductors. Sabotage of the nation’s oil facilities in the Niger Delta has been tamed in the last two years with a resurgence in crude oil production from the hitherto combustive region. Activities of the secessionist groups in the South-East, with the consequential negative economic impacts, has been tamed to a tolerable level.
These are however work in progress because it is not yet uhuru in the security challenges in the South-South and South-East. Notwithstanding claims that government has invested humongous amount of money in procurement of military hardware in the last two years, reality suggests that the criminals are still portending great danger to citizens across the country.
Despite repeated claims of degrading Boko Haram, security agencies continue to grapple with attacks, ambushes and bombings, particularly in Borno and Yobe states. The past two months have seen a resurgence of violence, including the killing of locals in Plateau, Benue and Borno states.
Apparently frustrated by the resurgence of activities of the murderous Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in his state, Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, alleged infiltration of the army and top echelons of government by members of the dissident groups. This allegation, though not new, requires immediate action from the government. Concerned citizens have consistently called on the President to bring all identified sponsors of terrorism to book irrespective of their status in the society.
This, of course, must be addressed by the President subsequently to show seriousness in his avowed determination to fight insecurity in the country.
Experts have counselled that the government must deploy technology in the fight against terrorism, banditry and kidnapping. Modern technology like drones and other equipment that could generate credible intelligence on locations of bandits and terrorists must be deployed.
The army should deploy men to monitor ungoverned spaces serving as hideouts and camps for the criminals across the country. Tinubu’s announcement of fuel subsidy withdrawal and harmonization if foreign exchange regime to tame the nation’s haemorrhaging economy brought unprecedented suffering sufferings to the masses.
Despite the achievements recorded by President Tinubu in the last two years, he needs to do more on the economy to ease the prevailing hardship
The fuel subsidy removal triggered spiral inflation and high transportation cost, making life unbearable. Notable economists across the country are divided over the desirability and workability of the reforms with many clamouring for a reversal of the policies. But the President has consistently maintained that the twin policies were inevitable, stating that the only alternative was fiscal crises that could sink the nation’s economy.
The implementation of the policies, he explained, has reinvigorated the country’s financial status with the federal and state governments having more money to deliver impactful projects and cater for citizens’ welfare. To address the fallout of the reforms, the Tinubu administration rolled out initiatives that have begun to positively address the high cost of living and hunger in the land. First, he renegotiated the minimum wage and agreed to pay workers N70,000 monthly.
To address high cost of food items, the President granted waivers for importation of food into the country. This initiative has reduced the price of food, particularly rice and other grains. The CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) initiative, has also to some extent, reduced cost of transportation.
Other notable achievements by the Tinubu’s administration in the last two years include the student loans initiative, which took off the burden of school fees from indigent students; stabilization of the economy with the attraction of about $8 billion in the oil and gas sector; improved revenue generation and greater transparency in government finances; discontinuation of Ways and Means financing, growing external reserve by almost 500 percent from $4 billion to over $23 billion within one year between 2022 to 2023.
Achievements recorded by the President in the last two years further include introduction of incentives to support high impact manufacturing, technology, and agriculture sectors.
These reforms were not just about revenue but about stimulating inclusive economic growth; revitalization of over 1,000 Primary Health Centres nationwide with additional 5,500 PHCs being upgraded amongst others. The Tinubu’s administration has also redefined and revolutionized the nation’s infrastructure space in the last two years.
Huge resources have been deployed to road construction, including the Abuja-KadunaZaria-Kano dual carriageway, the 9th Mile Oturkpo-Makurdi road, Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Abuja-Lokoja-Benin road, Enugu-Onitsha expressway, Oyo-Ogbomoso road, Sokoto-Badagry road, Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway, Second Niger Bridge access road and Bodo-Bonny road, among other ongoing road projects.
These achievements, notwithstanding, many Nigerians are yet to feel the impact of the government in their lives. High cost of living has made nonsense of the increase in minimum wage. Many are dying because getting medical care has become difficult.
Therefore, the government would need to introduce initiatives that will create jobs with a view to putting more money in the pockets of the common man. In the fight against corruption, the Tinubu’s administration has arraigned several individuals alleged to have been involved in financial malfeasance.
While some are said to have discreetly returned humongous amounts of stolen funds running into billions of naira, and in foreign currencies to government coffers to avoid prosecution, recalcitrant ones are facing the jury. A court recently ordered forfeiture of 753 units of duplexes to the government by a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
However, opposition elements have argued that the Tinubu’s administration has used state institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to harass members of the opposition, while shielding corrupt persons in government. The recent gale of defections by some opposition politicians into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was attributed to threats of investigation, arrest and prosecution by the anti-graft agencies.
This allegation has been consistently disputed by officials of the ruling party, who argue that none of the decampees was forced to dump the opposition parties To deepen democracy and ensure good governance and development at the grass root levels, the President affirmed that his administration would implement the ruling of the Supreme Court granting financial autonomy to the local governments. This is considered a plus as it will take development to the grassroots.
But, going forward, the President needs to clear all the legal encumbrances against implementation of the judgement as there are reports that some governors are working tirelessly to subvert it. Despite the achievements recorded by President Tinubu in the last two years, critics are however unanimous in their submission that he needs to do more on the economy to ease the prevailing hardship on citizens by initiating policies that will improve their welfare.
They also urged the President to do more of governance than politics. They held that though frontline political figures may be falling over themselves to endorse him ahead of the 2027 election, the impact of his performance on the people will ultimately determine the decision of the electorate on his continued stay in power beyond his first term.
