Tinubu’s Maiden Presidential Chat Sparks Mixed Reactions from Nigerians on Key Policies

President Bola Tinubu’s maiden presidential chat, has continued to elicit divergent views and comments from a cross-section of Nigerians.

While many reckoned that his views on key national issues actually hit the bull’s eye, several others posited that some of his remarks were largely off the mark.

The respondents ranged from politicians, senior lawyers, business analysts, the clergy, and economists, among others.

Tinubu had Monday held his first presidential media chat, 18 months after assuming office, in a move that took the nation by surprise, especially that he deliberately avoided debates ahead of the 2023 national elections.

He, however, took questions from senior journalists on a wide range of issues, including those bordering mostly on his economic reforms and security concerns.

The president was largely straightforward in many of his responses, although a number were quite controversial.

This included his refusal to consider cutting down on big government, decision to remove petrol subsidy wholesale as well as the policy of floating the naira against stronger and more stable currencies like the US dollar.

Reacting to the president’s media chat, Mr Ahmed Raji, SAN, who commended Tinubu for his bold decisions so far, stressed that for Nigeria to make meaningful progress, some tough decisions must be made, such as the fuel subsidy removal and the reforms on taxation.

“I agree absolutely with the president that there should be no going back on tax reforms and subsidy removal. A careful perusal of our existing tax laws reveals a lot of gaps and urgent need for harmonisation,” he argued.

While pointing out that the four bills pending at the National Assembly had substantially addressed many of the economic challenges confronting the country, Raji maintained that the principle of attribution has been properly addressed in the operation of the country’s Value Added Tax (VAT) regime.

“A proper understanding of the principle of attribution is very crucial to the appreciation and understanding of the principle of derivation,” he added.

On the stampede occasioned by the distribution of palliatives by some Nigerians, the senior lawyer blamed it on ignorance and lack of self worth, stating that the organisers had a lot of the blame to take.

Speaking on the administration’s battle against insecurity, Raji argued that any change in the leadership of the security agencies could have a negative impact.

“With the current onslaught in the North-west against the Lakurawas, the military needs encouragement and not rejigging. We should not dampen their spirits and morale,” he argued.

Another senior lawyer, Rev. John Baiyeshea, SAN, however, expressed disappointment with Tinubu’s response to issues that were discussed, saying the president was dismissive in all his answers, a development he added showed lack of empathy and concern for the people whose votes put him in power.

According to Baiyeshea, the president spoke from the point of one, who saw himself as being so much aloof from the painful realities of his ‘chronic’ economic policies currently impacting negatively on the people.

Claiming that Tinubu did not demonstrate leadership with a human face all through, Baiyeshea stated that the president spoke so casually to all the issues with the gusto of a leader, who feels that his position was so sure and secured and entrenched to the extent that nothing could be done to him.

“The president was addressing Nigerians who are already on ground zero of life and you as president cannot speak good, soothing and encouraging words to help your traumatised citizens from the siege mentality that your harsh economic policies have put them in.

“I used to think that this president from his days as a NADECO activist and being governor of Lagos State was a man with milk of human kindness, a welfarist who believed in managing the resources of the nation for the common good of the generality of the citizens.

“But I wonder what exactly makes people in authority turn against the people they are supposed to be ruling. Removal of fuel subsidy is such a vexed and contentious policy that has brought poverty, misery, disease, hunger, anger and frustration on Nigerians.

“And instead of the president to calmly and humbly urge the people to show understanding, he just said annoyingly that there is no going back on the policy. It’s like the president telling his fellow citizens to go to hell. To be honest, the president is treating Nigerians with so much contempt and lack of respect.

“Meanwhile, he did not even offer the slightest ray of hope to Nigerians on when their sufferings will abate. Nigerians continue to pay for corruption in the system,” argued.

In its reaction, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the president’s remarks confirmed the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration’s insensitivity to the current widespread hardship and suffering being faced by Nigerians, resulting from the ill-implemented and anti-people policies of the ruling party.

In a statement by the National Publicity, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP said, “The declaration by President Bola Tinubu that he has no regrets for the sudden removal of fuel subsidy without any cushioning measures to mitigate the resultant crippling effect on the productive sector, high cost of living and associated hardship which is now driving citizens to extreme poverty and early death also confirms APC’s disconnection from the primary purpose of government which is the welfare and security of the citizens.”

The PDP spokesman said it was instructive that Tinubu in the chat admitted that Nigerians were bearing the brunt of the failure and inability of the APC administration under his watch to effectively police and secure the nation’s borders so as to prevent the smuggling of petroleum products to neighboring countries.

Ologunagba said the PDP was disturbed that while the APC had failed to account for the proceeds saved from the removal of subsidy, Nigerians were subjected to crushing economic hardship because the APC administration has failed in its fundamental duty of ensuring the territorial integrity of the nation.

Furthermore, he said Nigerians were appalled that instead of admitting failure and seeking solutions, Tinubu claimed that the nation’s economy had improved under his watch when in reality the situation had worsened with comatose productive sector, deteriorating value of the Naira at N1,700 to the US dollar, 34.6 per cent inflation and 40 per cent unemployment rates in the last 18 months.

Ologunagba said the widespread food stampede in various parts of the country which recently led to the death of many Nigerians showed that Nigeria was indeed in perilous times under the APC.

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) said it believed that the media chat was informative and engaging.

Spokesperson of the forum, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman said while the president touched on a number of issues, he would have loved to hear more specifics on how he planned to address the root causes of insecurity, such as poverty, unemployment, among others.

“President Bola Tinubu’s maiden media chat has been a topic of discussion among Nigerians, with many eagerly awaiting his views on key issues such as security, the economy, and his proposed reforms. As a concerned citizen, I was particularly interested in hearing his plans and strategies for addressing these pressing issues.

“In his media chat, President Tinubu touched on a wide range of topics, including his vision for the country’s economic development, his plans for tackling the security challenges facing Nigeria, and his proposed reforms to improve governance and accountability.

While his speech was articulate and well-reasoned, I found myself wanting more concrete details and actionable steps to address these issues.

“On the issue of security, President Tinubu emphasised the need for a comprehensive approach that combines military action with social and economic interventions.

“While this is a step in the right direction, I would have liked to hear more specifics on how he plans to address the root causes of insecurity, such as poverty, unemployment, and social inequality.”

On the economy, Abdul-Azeez said Tinubu outlined his vision for diversifying the country’s economy and creating more opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.

He said while these were laudable goals, he would have appreciated more details on how he planned to achieve them, including specific policies and initiatives that would be implemented.

“In terms of his proposed reforms, President Tinubu spoke about the need for greater transparency and accountability in government, as well as the importance of strengthening institutions to ensure good governance.

“While these are important principles, I would have liked to hear more specifics on how he plans to implement these reforms and overcome the challenges that have hindered progress in the past.

“Overall, while President Tinubu’s maiden media chat was informative and engaging, I believe that more concrete details and actionable steps are needed to address the pressing issues facing Nigeria.

“As a concerned citizen, I hope that President Tinubu will continue to engage with the public and provide more clarity on his plans and strategies for moving the country forward.”

A Legislative Consultant and Public Affairs analyst, Mr. Akinloye Oyebanji, was of the opinion that the media chat coming after 18 months wasn’t encouraging, saying there should have been a series of it.

“Presidential chats coming in the 18th month of an administration is not encouraging, especially an administration that has taken some drastic decisions affecting all levels of the economy of the country and its citizens. There should have been a series of it, addressing concerns of Nigerians and also getting feedback from both sides of the divide.

“Secondly, the president only spoke about his programmes and decisions. A chat of this nature, I believe, should be a breeding ground to talk about issues, decisions and weigh advice or inputs proffered by the citizens to make a considerable headway.

“Our concerns, or let me say my concerns are the budget, borrowings, high cost of living, the tax reform, fuel subsidy removal, floating of Naira, inflation, cabinet size, excessive government spending and a few others.

“While he addressed some, he damned all our calls to have a rethink on some by reiterating his resolve to continue with his policies on these come what may.”

Lending his voice, an Abuja-based cleric, Bayo Oladeji, said the media chat was long overdue, and prayed it would not stop. He stressed that the media chat gave Nigerians the opportunity to see the thinking of the president.

According to him, “Every president has his own style of governance. There’s nothing anyone can do about it, you either agree or disagree. The president has justified his policies and he scored himself excellent. It is left to the economists and security analysts to agree or disagree with him.

“Interestingly, the experts, too, will not agree among themselves. The president said he has no regret about the withdrawal of the subsidy and that he does not believe in price control. He advised the people to adjust their spending. Once you are living in this country you have to abide by the government’s policies.

“There is hardship in the land due to the high cost of living occasioned by the withdrawal of fuel subsidy and the unending Naira devaluation, but the president believes that is the only way out of rescuing the economy, we have to allow him to do his best.”

He, however, advised the president to ensure that there was a calendar to all his policies.

Nigeria’s first professor of Capital Market/pioneer President, Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, rated the president’s performance as being above the average mark.

He said: “In terms of addressing the key concerns of Nigerians and the economy in general within the period, I would rate the president above average.

“From security to agriculture and indirect methods his administration has taken to fight corruption such as fuel subsidy removal, increase in minimum wage and students loan scheme, I score him high on the responses that he gave.”

He however, expressed disappointment over the president’s decision not to reduce his cabinet.

Managing Director/Chief Executive, SD&D Capital Management Limited, Mr. Idakolo Gbolade, said the president dwelt on issues paramount to his transformation agenda, stressing the successes made in revenue generation, security and debt management.

He argued that, “The president and his handlers believe he has performed well but key issues of endemic poverty and serious hardship being experienced by the populace persist and President Tinubu only appealed as usual for patience.

“The economic situation is biting very hard on the people and it could be evident in the desperation of Nigerians when palliative items were being distributed leading to stampedes.

“The major concern of the people is their welfare which can be taken care of with more employment opportunities, reduced cost of living and a pragmatic solution to the very high cost of goods and services.”

The Director General of Nigerian Employers’ Association (NECA), Dr. AdewaleSmatt Oyerinde, and the Chief Executive Officer of BIC Consultancy Services Limited, Dr. Boniface Chizea, commended the Nigerian leader for hosting the press and hoped that the development should continue.

They also believed that Tinubu did not deal sufficiently with issues that bothered Nigerians the most.

For instance, Oyerinde, said the President’s address did a bit to address the issues when more definitive statements would not have been a bad idea, especially as the nation is grappling to cope with the bitter pill of this administration’s ongoing reforms.

He, however, agreed with the president on the issue of price control.

“You can only introduce the mechanism of price control when you have control on the cost, availability and supply of critical inputs, such as FX, raw materials, etc. If you cannot control the prices of inputs, you cannot control the prices of goods and services on the shelves,” he pointed out.

Oyerinde also said the removal of fuel subsidy, the student’s loan scheme and minimum wage increase could not, on their own, solve the endemic challenge of corruption.

“We want to believe that the president’s statement was taken out of context. While these three issues will address some fundamental challenges, they are, however, not enough to address the corruption challenge,” he said.

He argued that public borrowing was not in itself a bad idea if the debt was properly channeled to developmental activities.

Nevertheless, he remarked that Nigeria’s challenge was that there was little or nothing to show for the millions of dollars that had been borrowed in time past.

Chizea insisted that the president did not speak on issues that were dear to Nigerians, like the reviving of government’s refineries in the country.

He, however, agreed with the president that it was needless to resort to price control measures and the need to forge on with the ongoing tax reforms.

“I think that we should not go back on the tax reforms,” Chizea said, adding that“price control has never worked,” even though he did not believe that Tinubu’s large cabinet was necessary.

Chucks Okocha, Emmanuel Addeh, James Emejo, Alex Enumah, AdedayoAkinwale and Dike Onwuamaeze

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