Let President also tighten his belt

SIR: Let me start this piece by commending members of the House of Representatives for agreeing to take 50 per cent salary cut for six months as a demonstration of solidarity and shared sacrifice with the Nigerian people who are currently facing economic challenges and food security. Although some people saw the sacrifice by the lawmakers as infinitesimal, considering the huge allowances they take home every month, they deserve my commendation, even if ungenerously, for giving up part of their entitlements in solidarity with their suffering compatriots.

In fact, I expected Nigerian senators led by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to quickly borrow a leaf from their junior counterparts in the National Assembly, but they have so far not done so. Rather, Nigerians were baffled recently by the revelation by Senator Sumaila Kawu, representing Kano South senatorial district that he takes N21 million home every month. The revelation, which came on the heels of the nationwide hunger protest, sparked a serious outrage in the country.

Besides the senators, I expected members of the Executive Arm of Government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to also make personal sacrifices like the members of House of Representatives. As of the time of writing this piece, no such gesture has come from the President, the Vice President, Kashim Shettima and other members of the Executive Arm, apart from the purported distribution of palliative packages to vulnerable Nigerians, which according to legal luminary and leading educationist, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN), is turning Nigerians into beggars.

The height of the insensitivity of the Executive is the recent unveiling of a new aircraft for Mr. President at a time that Nigerians were going through unprecedented hardship that his economic policies inflicted on them. The President made his latest trip to France aboard the new Airbus A330, which replaced the 19-year old Boeing B737-700 bought under the presidency of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Although some sections of the Nigerian media claimed that the new presidential jet was bought for $150 million, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga said Nigeria bought it far below the cost price. According to Onanuga, the recommendation to replace the old B737-700, followed an investigative hearing by Nigeria’s parliament that questioned the plane’s safety record and cost efficiency, especially after it malfunctioned during a trip to Saudi Arabia.

The story at the Vice President Shettima’s end is not different. Renowned Nigerian online news platform, Peoples Gazette, reported that the Tinubu administration lavished N14 billion on the Vice President’s residence, built at a total construction cost of N21 billion. The project was initially awarded in 2010 at a cost of N7 billion but was abandoned in 2015. The Federal Government through the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration reviewed the contract upwards in January this year to N21 billion.

Earlier, each of the 469 lawmakers in the National Assembly got a new SUV worth $150, 000 each. The amount spent on the vehicles was very far above the amount prescribed by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) for the purchase of vehicles for lawmakers.   

Given this background, it appears that Tinubu’s renewed hope government is meant to satisfy the grandiose lifestyle of those who are in the corridors of power, leaving hapless Nigerians at the mercy of hardship, hunger and deprivation. Since the removal of fuel subsidy on his inauguration day on May 29, 2023, the President has consistently appealed to Nigerians to tighten their belt and endure the hardship occasioned by the policy, which according to him, would last for a while.

Ironically, the same person saying that we should tighten our belts, appears to have unbelted himself. The same person appealing to Nigerians to endure the pains is engaging in unprecedented profligacy. No Nigerian President ever engaged in such extravagance even at the time of oil boom.  

Fifteen months after President Tinubu bade farewell to fuel subsidy on the day of his inauguration, Nigerians are still being asked to endure, even as the hardship bites harder. There is no solution in sight. After the 10 days #EndBadGovernance” protest, which lasted from August 1 to 10, 2024, the President again acknowledged the pains that Nigerians were going through as a result of the fuel subsidy removal, saying his good and helpful plans compounded Nigerians pains.

So, President should re-enact his days as an ordinary citizen when he drank garri and ate groundnut, according to Vice President, Kashim Shettima. Unfortunately the common man in Nigeria under his presidency can no longer afford garri and groundnut. Garri that cost N50 per cup prior to his assumption of office as the President, now costs N200 per cup. The price of groundnut has also quadrupled between the period he assumed office in May last year and today.

In conclusion, I recommend that President Tinubu should also tighten his belt. I don’t see why he should spend $150 million dollars to buy a presidential jet while Nigerians are suffering. It shows lack of empathy and insensitivity to the hardship that Nigerians are going through. He should show empathy towards the people. Unveiling a presidential jet immediately after the nationwide hunger protest is an act of cruelty. A word is enough for the wise.   
Dr. Chekwube Nzomiwu, a media practitioner, wrote from Awka, Anambra State.