Last week, while receiving a delegation of the Yoruba leaders of thought at the State House, Abuja, the President described his first 12 months in office as fulfilling, adding that his administration is addressing the challenges frontally.
“It has been challenging. It has been fulfilling as well. We took over, and we stopped the bleeding. I can say categorically now that Nigeria is no longer bleeding. And it will not bleed to death, but rather will now move to prosperity. That is the promise that I made to you all, and it is also the charge that you gave me.
We are managing to swim through the pond. The current is not a good one. We will turn the tide. We are turning the bend. This, I assure you. I am being very careful. The worst is over for Nigeria. We will prevail.
I thank the team who have been working really hard. All I can promise is that we will do whatever it takes. We are determined, and we will work so that all Nigerians can feel the impact of good governance” the President said.
The President says he has stopped the bleeding. He says categorically that Nigeria is no longer bleeding. Many will find it difficult, very difficult to concur with the President. It could very well be that either the President was talking about another country or he has not been told the truth.
A Vanguard newspaper report of March 23, 2024, with the caption, “Killing Fields: 6, 931 people Killed under Tinubu in 10 months”, is not exactly the picture that categorically says bleeding has stopped.
The rider to the story says, “10-month death toll lower than 8,356 wasted under Buhari, worse than Jonathan’s 2,059”
Food inflation has continued to rise. The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, disclosed this fact recently in her Selected Food Prices Watch report for April 2024.
According to the NBS, the average price of 1kg of white garri increased by 134.98 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N362.50 recorded in April 2023 to N851.81 in April 2024.
It said that on a month-on-month basis, 1kg of white garri increased by 13.59 per cent from the N749.89 recorded in March 2024.
The NBS further disclosed that the average price of 1kg of local rice increased by 155.93 per cent from N546.76 recorded in April 2023 to N1, 399.34 in April 2024.
We could go on and on.
It may take a full dissertation to conclude discussions on the economy.
Reports say Nigeria is projected to slip to the fourth largest economy in Africa in 2024, behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria.
The Nigerian people are bleeding profusely from the one in the world Band strategy deployed to remove fuel subsidy in the country. Jobs are being lost as the lean manufacturers community; struggle to hold on, amid rising cost of production and unthinkable energy bills.
Families who could hitherto manage their electricity bills have to forgo power so as to be able to feed and meet other essential living needs.
Medical expenses have skyrocketed as hospitals have been forced to transfer running costs to the already malnourished population.
We could go on and on.
So, somebody has to tell Mr President the truth. The multiplier effect of government policies is bleeding her people to death. The President says Nigeria will not bleed to death.
But what is Nigeria without the people?
It would be craving the impossible to expect the President not to give himself and his administration a pass mark. But Nigerians, who have apparently become accustomed, to long suffering, would welcome some realism and candor at this first year anniversary of President Tinubu’s government.
The reality is that Nigerians, the President said Nigeria, but we say Nigerians, are bleeding profusely. Who shall tell the President?
credit: This is the editorial of The plenary com.ng, Nigeria's foremost newspaper on the Legislature, Policy and Politics
https://theplenary.com.ng/editorial/who-shall-tell-mr-president-that-nigerians-are-bleeding/
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