“The world is witnessing and benefiting from the can-do spirit of the Nigerian individuals, our huge mental capability, and our enterprise and business in all vocations, from arts to science, expertise to infrastructure. The goals that our founding fathers envisaged are nonetheless a piece in progress. Each day, we put our fingers on the plough, decided to do a greater job of it.” – President Tinubu in his sixty fourth independence anniversary speech yesterday, October 1, 2024.
I listened to the 22-minutes’ nationwide broadcast of President Bola Tinubu yesterday. Whereas it had some soundbites and usually up to date the citizenry on the state of play about our nation, it fell wanting the expectations of many compatriots. Earlier than I tackle the lacking gaps, listed here are among the highlights of the president’s second independence day speech since inauguration on Might 29, 2023.
On the safety entrance, the president mentioned his administration is profitable the warfare on terror and banditry. He mentioned the goal is to eradicate all of the threats of Boko Haram, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and the scourge of all types of violent extremism. Inside one yr, he claimed his authorities has eradicated Boko Haram and bandit commanders quicker than ever. As of the final depend, over 300 Boko Haram and bandit commanders have been eradicated by our gallant troops within the Northeast, Northwest, and another components of the nation. Whereas this feat is commendable, you will need to take care of the push issue which is making extra Nigerians to take to crimes and criminality as technique of survival. Except that is addressed, the bottom will proceed to be fertile for sustainable recruitments of latest felons and bandits.
The president mentioned as a approach of responding to current pure disasters, on the final assembly of the Federal Govt Council, a Catastrophe Aid Fund was authorized to mobilise personal and public sector funds to assist the nation reply quicker to emergencies. Moreover, he has ordered integrity assessments of all our dams within the nation to avert future disasters. On the financial entrance, the president mentioned reforms have attracted overseas direct investments price greater than $30 billion since he got here to energy.
Nonetheless on the financial system, President Tinubu mentioned “The extra disciplined strategy adopted by the Central Financial institution to financial coverage administration has ensured stability and predictability in our overseas alternate market. We inherited a reserve of over $33 billion 16 months in the past. Since then, we’ve paid again the inherited foreign exchange backlog of $7 billion. We’ve got cleared the methods and means debt of over N30 trillion. We’ve got decreased the debt service ratio from 97 per cent to 68 per cent. Regardless of all these, we’ve managed to maintain our overseas reserve at $37 billion. We proceed to satisfy all our obligations and pay our payments.”
He mentioned the FEC authorized the Financial Stabilisation Payments, which can now be transmitted to the Nationwide Meeting. These transformative payments will make our enterprise surroundings extra pleasant, stimulate funding and scale back the tax burden on companies and employees as soon as they’re handed into regulation. The necessity for real ease of doing enterprise can’t be overemphasized.
Tinubu mentioned his administration is resolute in its dedication to implement the Supreme Courtroom judgment on the monetary autonomy of native governments. On this depend, we’ve seen a raft of native authorities elections being held throughout states the place native governments are hitherto being administered by caretaker committees. Nevertheless, the standard of those elections leaves a lot to be desired because the ruling events within the states the place the polls are carried out find yourself profitable all of the obtainable councillorship and chairmanship seats. These elections are roughly shambolic as opposition political events are muscled out of the competition or State Impartial Electoral Commissions conducting the elections merely announce most popular candidates of the governor.
On meals manufacturing and safety, the president lauded Governors of Kebbi, Niger, Jigawa, Kwara, Nasarawa, and the Southwest Governors which have embraced his agricultural manufacturing programme and urged different states to affix the FG in investing in mechanised farming. He mentioned the FG is enjoying its half by supplying fertilizer and making tractors and different farm gear obtainable. “Final week, the Federal Govt Council authorized establishing a neighborhood meeting plant for 2000 John Deere tractors, mix harvesters, disc riders, backside ploughs and different farm gear. The plant has a completion time of six months.”
The president didn’t say how a lot of the ten million hectares of land he promised to domesticate in his August 4, 2024 speech has been cultivated and the way a lot quantum of enhance have been recorded in meals manufacturing. He additionally ought to know that regardless of his directive since August 4 that tariffs and different import duties needs to be eliminated on rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, medicine, and different pharmaceutical and medical provides for the subsequent 6 months, to assist drive down the costs; prices of meals, medicine and medical merchandise stay astronomic.
The president glibly mentioned his vitality transition programme is heading in the right direction and that he’s increasing the adoption of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Pure Gasoline for mass transit with personal sector gamers. The query is, how most of the 3,000 CNG busses he promised since final yr July 31 has been delivered? When are we probably going to start out seeing these busses plying our roads? What concerning the lingering flip round upkeep of the Port Harcourt refinery? When will it begin manufacturing? What concerning the pricing of PMS with Dangote refinery? Will there ever be worth stability of our petroleum merchandise?
The president mentioned recognising that we can’t design a future that belongs to Nigerian youths with out making them its architects he’s organising a Nationwide Youth Convention. This convention will probably be a platform to deal with the various challenges and alternatives confronting our younger individuals. “The 30-day Confab will unite younger individuals nationwide to collaboratively develop options to points resembling training, employment, innovation, safety, and social justice. The modalities of this Confab and number of delegates will probably be designed in shut session with our younger individuals by means of their representatives.”
That is commendable supplied it won’t go the best way of 2014 nationwide convention organised by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan wherein over N12bn was purportedly spent to convoke a nationwide dialogue with the result jettisoned. I sincerely hope this isn’t one other jamboree. The president spoke about different youth-centric programmes resembling the three million Technical Skills programme of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economic system, aimed toward constructing Nigeria’s technical expertise spine. He additionally spoke about Nigerian Training Mortgage Fund, which offers low cost loans to our college students to pursue their tertiary academic goals. No point out of the quantity already disbursed or variety of beneficiary to this point. There’s a deliberate launch of the Renewed Hope Labour Employment and Empowerment Programme which is conceived as a complete suite of interventions at job creation by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment that’s aimed toward facilitating the creation of two.5 million jobs, straight and not directly, on an annual incremental foundation.
The crucial lacking gaps within the president’s speech embrace lack of awareness on the quantity of people that have been gainfully employed by his authorities in its 16 months’ administration. No point out was fabricated from quantity of people that have been lifted out of poverty. How many individuals have benefitted from its presidential initiatives on help to nano, small and medium enterprises stay unknown? No point out was made about anti-corruption initiatives; blockade of income leakages together with stoppage of oil theft. The resident was additionally silent on discount in the price of governance and the proposed cupboard reshuffle. Lastly, the president stored mum on when Nigerian will maintain the postponed Nationwide Inhabitants and Housing Census.
