By Kazeem Akintunde
Good day sir! I have decided to write you this open letter after one of your aides, Bayo Onanuga, told Nigerians last week that you are proceeding on a two weeks annual leave to the United Kingdom. As a leader that has been working ‘assiduously’ in the last 17 months to better the lot of your people, you deserve to have some rest.
Even at that, Onanuga told us that the two weeks period would be a working vacation and that it would serve as a retreat for you to reflect on your administration’s economic reforms. The second leg of the reasons adduced for your sudden vacation gladdens my heart.
Perhaps it is time for you to sit in a quiet corner without aides and hangers-on hovering around to take a second look at some of the economic policies you introduced when you assumed office 17 months ago.
Sir, those policies have almost snuffed the life out of those you preside over. The welfare of the people of Nigeria should be your number one priority. Let me tell you, sir, if you don’t know already, that some of your compatriots are already dying from starvation. Although to me, you picked a wrong time for your annual vacation, but as stated by Onanuga, if it is for you to reflect, all well and good.
In Yoruba land, we are told that elders don’t go to sleep when their house is on fire. Again, an African Proverb says that ‘When your house is on fire, you don’t choose who to help you put it out’.
If you are not aware that Nigeria is presently on fire, and most of your aides are not bold enough to let you know what is happening in the polity, it shows that many of them don’t love you. In my opinion, this should not be a period for a leader to proceed on leave, either a full leave or a working vacation.
Sir, over 80 per cent of your citizens are battling to keep their heads above water. The economic policies you introduced are having devastating impacts on most of your people. To survive is now becoming herculean and many are succumbing to hunger and depredation.
I hope you saw a video of what happened in Lagos Island on October 1, when the nation celebrated her 64th Independence Anniversary. If you did not see it, let me give you the gist. Some of your party members and staunch supporters on that date reach out to fellow Lagosians by sharing a loaf of bread as independent day palliative.
Your Excellency, if you watch the video that trended on social media, you will shed tears for the country. Able-bodied men and women had to line up to struggle to get a loaf of Bread. It is so bad and dehumanizing! Most Nigerians have been reduced to beggars in their own country. Just four years ago in the same Lagos, this time in Orile Agege Local Government Area during the lockdown occasioned by COVID-19, one of your close aides, who is also presently the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudasiru Obasa, distributed Agege Bread to those in his constituency as a form of palliative, but many residents were so angry with him that they turned those loaves of bread to caricature football which they used to play soccer on the streets.
That was just four years ago, when your predecessor in office, Muhammadu Buhari was at the helm of affairs. The loaf of bread which many found demeaning then, was sold at N300, but it’s the same loaf that Nigerians struggled to collect on October 1, and goes for N1,500 per loaf. To put it mildly, and I do beg your pardon of my language, we are in a deep shit in Nigeria.
While your aide told Nigerians that you are proceeding on a short vacation to reflect, most of your traducers are saying that you have to embark on the vacation in order to take care of your health. We don’t know who to believe again. If it is a health emergency that demanded you seeing your doctors, I see no reason why you should not proceed on your annual leave. At 70 plus, there is no way that you won’t have one health issue or the other.
The sad aspect, however, is that most African leaders don’t see the need to reveal their health conditions to their citizens. As human beings, and as we grow older, our bodies tend to record more wear and tear and there’s nothing to be ashamed of as a result. In fact, it is in the interest of national unity to have a healthy President who can perform their duties diligently.
If your countrymen and women are aware of your health situation, many prayer warriors amongst them – and Nigeria boasts of so many as one of the most religious people in the world – who would rise daily to pray for you. My advice in this regard therefore is that you come clean with your health status. Frequent travels outside the shores of the country on what most feel are flimsy excuses would harm your image in the long run. However, seeing as you have started this round of holiday, whether to reflect on your economic policies or to take care of your health, the fact remains that you must get well quick to face the daunting tasks of governance ahead.
Already, the economy is contracting. You must be aware that the economy is gradually shutting down. Many private businesses are folding up, as they can no longer cope with the huge challenges operating in the country in the forms of multiple taxation and crippling electricity bills, adversely affecting what is being produced. The much they are able to produce are piled in their warehouses and stores, as the purchasing power of the people have been reduced to little or nothing. Who thinks to buy anything besides food, medicine and fuel, now? If basic necessities such as education and rent is now a luxury for most, who will think of clothing now? Whatever an average Nigerian earns now goes directly for shopping mainly for food.
In Lagos, noted for its hustle and bustle even on a Monday, you will be shocked to see that most roads are empty, a stark contrast to the traffic jam which the city of excellence is noted for. Lagosians, and indeed, Nigerians now think twice before venturing out. If they have to, many now make use of commercial buses as a far cheaper alternative to buying petrol at exorbitant prices to put their cars on the road.
Even at that, the federal government and some state governors have now directed public servants to work for two or three days in a week due to prohibitive cost of getting to work via public transportation. Productivity in the work place is gradually heading south. Some public servants now go to work once in a week as cost of transportation hits the roof. With low productivity, how you intend to turn the economy around is still a mystery.
Mr. President, we have been complaining that the number of out of school children is on the high side, but with everything, including school fees on the rise, many parents can no longer afford to send their wards to school. Even public primary and secondary schools that should be free are only free in name only, as there are several charges parents now pay before their wards can be allowed in schools. Many of those who cannot afford to send their children to school now enroll them in lesson classes. This does not auger well for our collective future.
Your Excellency, the Naira is on a free fall and it is also not helping the manufacturing sector, which we should be stimulating to reduce our dependency on imports. Our Naira is now among the weakest currencies in the world, following severe battering due to devaluation by your government.
Many artisans from our neighbouring countries working in Nigeria’s construction industry and repatriating their funds back home are now leaving Nigeria in droves as they complain that our currencies is worthless compared to other West African currencies.
Sir, as a loyal citizen of this country, let me offer my own suggestions on how we can get out of these economic quagmire. One, would be a review of some of the economic policies you introduced last year that has turned Nigeria into a living hell. You can subsidize the amount you sell crude oil to Dangote refinery so that he can also sell refined petrol to Nigerians at a cheaper price. With that, we can get fuel to buy in the region of N500 per litre. If fuel is sold below N500, there would be a drop in the cost of transportation and this would have a tremendous effect on every sector of the economy.
Then, you need to put pressure on the Customs’ Comptroller General to ensure that his boys tackle the smuggling of our petrol to neighbouring countries. The military can also be deployed to man our borders so that the 450,000 barrels of crude allocated for local needs would be effectively utilized. Smuggling of petroleum products is still going on across our land’s borders even with its price hitting the roof and the government’s efforts to stop illegal refining and smuggling predominantly in the Niger Delta.
Again, you need to find a solution to the Naira that is now more like a tissue paper among other world’s currencies. The savings made from producing crude oil locally would aid in strengthening the Naira and it would go a long way in boosting our foreign reserves. We also need to improve the work environment for those in the manufacturing sector so that Nigeria would be an attractive destination for more foreign direct investments.
As you contemplate a rejig of your cabinet, you should consider bringing on board young Nigerians with fresh ideas on how to manage and grow the economy. There is nothing bad if you seek for help from Nigerians wherever they may be on how to improve the fortunes of our people. This is not the time to populate your cabinet with old men and women who are professional politicians in the belief that they would secure a second term ticket for you.
Work towards alleviating the sufferings of Nigerians and they would gladly ensure that you get a second term if you so desire in 2027.
Thank you, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
As a loyal subject and compatriot, I wish you a deserved rest during your two weeks holiday.
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