As Nigerians commemorate another June 12 Democracy Day, President Bola Tinubu has said that he feels the pain of Nigerians over the effects of the fuel subsidy removal.
Development Diaries reports that Democracy Day is celebrated every year in Nigeria to mark the return of the country to democracy and honour the winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, the late Moshood Abiola, and other heroes of democracy.
President Tinubu, in his first Democracy Day speech, urged Nigerians to bear the effects of the subsidy removal in order to save the country from going under.
He said, ‘I admit that the decision will impose extra burden on the masses of our people. I feel your pain.
‘This is one decision we must bear to save our country from going under and take our resources away from the stranglehold of a few unpatriotic elements’.
The president further promised that his government would repay Nigerians through massive investments and that the sacrifice of the people will not be in vain.
‘Painfully, I have asked you, my compatriots, to sacrifice a little more for the survival of our country. For your trust and belief in us, I assure you that your sacrifice shall not be in vain’, he said.
‘The government I lead will repay you through massive investment in transportation infrastructure, education, regular power supply, healthcare and other public utilities that will improve the quality of lives’.
President Tinubu further noted in his speech that ‘poverty is a man-made problem that can be eliminated with clearly thought-out social and economic policies’.
However beautiful the president’s statement might sound, it still goes back to the question of the fulfillment of several promises made.
Since the return of democracy in 1999, questions are still being raised on what exactly the citizens of Nigeria have benefitted from the system of government.
We would like to remind the president of the 2022 data from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which revealed that 133 million Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor; hence Nigerians expect to see the fulfilment of promises in the area of poverty eradication.
A KPMG report in April 2023 revealed that Nigeria’s unemployment rate is expected to rise to 40.6 percent in 2023. This was attributed to limited investment by the private sector, low industrialisation, and slower economic growth.
It is expected that Tinubu’s policies would reduce the unemployment rate in Nigeria and address other economic concerns that have sunk Nigerians into deeper poverty.
Development Diaries calls on the president to be specific in his plans to address the concerns that plague Nigeria as a democratic state, rather than making recounting promises.
Furthermore, we still await the president’s plan on providing incentives that will help cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on the masses.
We also call on the citizens of Nigeria to be awake to their responsibilities of being active citizens and holding their leaders at all levels accountable.
Photo source: Bola Ahmed Tinubu
