EndBadGovernance: Tinubu Speaks Out, Calls for Protest’s End
President Bola Tinubu addresses the nationwide protests against economic hardship, calling for dialogue and urging the suspension of demonstrations. He emphasizes the need for unity and cooperation to build a prosperous Nigeria and outlines government efforts to improve the economy and support citizens.
Summary:
- Nationwide Protests: Nigerians, especially youths, started protests on August 1 against economic hardship.
- Tinubu’s Address: President Tinubu expressed sadness over the situation and called for an immediate end to the protests.
- Loss of Lives: Mentioned the loss of lives and destruction of properties in several states.
- Public Order: Emphasized the need to maintain public order and prevent further violence.
- Economic Reforms: Highlighted efforts to rebuild the economy, including removing fuel subsidies and abolishing multiple foreign exchange systems.
- Government Revenue: Mentioned the increase in government revenues due to blocking leakages and introducing automation.
- Infrastructure Projects: Detailed ongoing infrastructure projects aimed at boosting economic output.
- Youth Initiatives: Outlined various programs and loans to support youth and small businesses.
- Housing Projects: Discussed the launch of housing projects to provide homes and create jobs.
- Food Production: Emphasized efforts to increase food production and reduce prices.
- Call for Unity: Urged Nigerians to work together for a better future, choosing hope over fear and unity over division.
Main Article:
President Bola Tinubu addressed Nigerians on Sunday regarding the ongoing nationwide protests against economic hardship. The protests, which began on August 1, were primarily driven by the youth, demanding an end to the food crisis and other economic challenges.
In his speech, President Tinubu expressed his sadness over the situation and called for the immediate suspension of the demonstrations. He highlighted the loss of lives in states like Borno, Jigawa, Kano, and Kaduna, and the destruction of public facilities and looting of shops, which contradicted the promise of peaceful protests by the organizers.
Full Speech:
“I speak to you today with a heavy heart and a sense of responsibility, aware of the turmoil and violent protests unleashed in some of our states. Notably among the protesters were young Nigerians who desired a better and more progressive country where their dreams, hopes, and personal aspirations would be fulfilled.
I am especially pained by the loss of lives in Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, and other states, the destruction of public facilities in some states, and the wanton looting of supermarkets and shops, contrary to the promise of protest organizers that the protest would be peaceful across the country. The destruction of properties sets us back as a nation, as scarce resources will be again used to restore them.
I commiserate with the families and relations of those who have died in the protests. We must stop further bloodshed, violence, and destruction.
As President of this country, I must ensure public order. In line with my constitutional oath to protect the lives and property of every citizen, our government will not stand idly by and allow a few with a clear political agenda to tear this nation apart.
Under the circumstances, I hereby enjoin protesters and the organizers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue, which I have always acceded to at the slightest opportunity. Nigeria requires all hands on deck and needs us all – regardless of age, party, tribe, religion, or other divides, to work together in reshaping our destiny as a nation. To those who have taken undue advantage of this situation to threaten any section of this country, be warned: The law will catch up with you. There is no place for ethnic bigotry or such threats in the Nigeria we seek to build.
Our democracy progresses when the constitutional rights of every Nigerian are respected and protected. Our law enforcement agencies should continue to ensure the full protection of lives and properties of innocent citizens in a responsible manner.
My vision for our country is one of a just and prosperous nation where each person may enjoy the peace, freedom, and meaningful livelihood that only democratic good governance can provide – one that is open, transparent, and accountable to the Nigerian people.
For decades, our economy has remained anaemic and taken a dip because of many misalignments that have stunted our growth. Just over a year ago, our dear country, Nigeria, reached a point where we couldn’t afford to continue the use of temporary solutions to solve long-term problems for the sake of now and our unborn generations. I therefore took the painful yet necessary decision to remove fuel subsidies and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress.
These actions blocked the greed and the profits that smugglers and rent-seekers made. They also blocked the undue subsidies we had extended to our neighboring countries to the detriment of our people, rendering our economy prostrate. These decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well. Yes, I agree, the buck stops on my table. But I can assure you that I am focused fully on delivering the governance to the people – good governance for that matter.
In the past 14 months, our government has made significant strides in rebuilding the foundation of our economy to carry us into a future of plenty and abundance. On the fiscal side, aggregate government revenues have more than doubled, hitting over 9.1 trillion Naira in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023 due to our efforts at blocking leakages, introducing automation, and mobilizing funding creatively without additional burden on the people. Productivity is gradually increasing in the non-oil sector, reaching new levels and taking advantage of the opportunities in the current economic ambiance.
My dear brothers and sisters, we have come this far. Coming from a place where our country spent 97% of all our revenue on debt service; we have been able to reduce that to 68% in the last 13 months. We have also cleared legitimate outstanding foreign exchange obligations of about $5 billion without any adverse impact on our programs.
This has given us more financial freedom and the room to spend more money on you, our citizens, to fund essential social services like education and healthcare. It has also led to our State, and Local Governments receiving the highest allocations ever in our country’s history from the Federation Account.
We have also embarked on major infrastructure projects across the country. We are working to complete inherited projects critical to our economic prosperity, including roads, bridges, railways, power, and oil and gas developments. Notably, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Highway projects will open up 16 connecting states, creating thousands of jobs and boosting economic output through trade, tourism, and cultural integration.
Our once-declining oil and gas industry is experiencing a resurgence on the back of the reforms I announced in May 2024 to address the gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act. Last month, we increased our oil production to 1.61 million barrels per day, and our gas assets are receiving the attention they deserve. Investors are coming back, and we have already seen two Foreign Direct Investments signed of over half a billion dollars since then.
Fellow Nigerians, we are a country blessed with both oil and gas resources, but we met a country that had been dependent solely on oil-based petrol, neglecting its gas resources to power the economy. We were also using our hard-earned foreign exchange to pay for, and subsidize its use. To address this, we immediately launched our Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (CNG) to power our transportation economy and bring costs down. This will save over two trillion Naira a month, being used to import PMS and AGO and free up our resources for more investment in healthcare and education.
To this end, we will be distributing a million kits of extremely low or no cost to commercial vehicles that transport people and goods and who currently consume 80% of the imported PMS and AGO.
We have started the distribution of conversion kits and setting up of conversion centers across the country in conjunction with the private sector. We believe that this CNG initiative will reduce transportation costs by approximately 60 percent and help to curb inflation.
Our administration has shown its commitment to the youth by setting up the student loan scheme. To date, 45.6 billion Naira has already been processed for payment to students and their respective institutions.
I encourage more of our vibrant youth population to take advantage of this opportunity. We established the Consumer Credit Corporation with over N200 billion to help Nigerians to acquire essential products without the need for immediate cash payments, making life easier for millions of households. This will consequently reduce corruption and eliminate cash and opaque transactions. This week, I ordered the release of an additional N50 billion Naira each for NELFUND – the student loan, and Credit Corporation from the proceeds of crime recovered by the EFCC.
Additionally, we have secured $620 million under the Digital and Creative Enterprises (IDiCE) – a program to empower our young people, creating millions of IT and technical jobs that will make them globally competitive. These programs include the 3 Million Technical Talents scheme. Unfortunately, one of the digital centers was vandalized during the protests in Kano. What a shame!
In addition, we have introduced the Skill-Up Artisans Programme (SUPA); the Nigerian Youth Academy (NIYA); and the National Youth Talent Export Programme (NATEP).
Also, more than N570 billion has been released to the 36 states to expand livelihood support to their citizens, while 600,000 nano-businesses have benefitted from our nano-grants. An additional 400,000 more nano-businesses are expected to benefit.
Furthermore, 75,000 beneficiaries have been processed to receive our N1 million Micro and Small Business single-digit interest loans, starting this month. We have also built 10 MSME hubs within the past year, created 240,000 jobs, and are currently building 50 more across all states.
To address the housing deficit, I inaugurated the Renewed Hope City and Estate in May, with 3,212 housing units at the cost of 20.8 billion Naira, creating 1,515 jobs in Abuja. At the state level, we have also launched the Renewed Hope Estates, with 500 housing units in each state, which will provide homes and create jobs for Nigerians in all states and the FCT.
We understand that the tariffs and import duties on basic food items like rice and wheat, and agricultural supplies like tractors and spare parts, have contributed to the prices of these items. Therefore, we have immediately removed tariffs and import duties on these items for six months. This will be reviewed at the end of the period depending on the outcome.
We have prioritized our food security agenda in line with our comprehensive food security strategy to improve food production, reduce food inflation, and bring down prices. We will be distributing fertilizers, seeds, and mechanized farming equipment to farmers, and the private sector is also supporting our efforts to boost food production. We will continue to support farmers with seedlings and the appropriate support to increase their harvests.
Our target is to cultivate more than 10 million hectares of land to grow what we eat. The Federal Government will provide all necessary incentives for this initiative.
Despite the changes we have seen in the past year, I still hear and see the pains, anger, and fear in the faces of our people. My call to you is to remain hopeful as my government takes concrete actions to address the challenges of daily living.
We will ensure that this administration keeps on the path to good governance and economic stability. It will be wrong for you to expect this government to solve all our problems in 14 months. No country solves its problems overnight. Let us work together to build a brighter future for ourselves and for generations to come. Let us choose hope over fear, unity over division, and progress over stagnation.
Thank you, and may God bless Nigeria.”
