Its no longer news that the cost of living in the country, has taken a different shape ever since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn in on Monday 29th May , 2023 to lead the nation for another period of time.
It would be recalled that shortly after he was inaugurated , while delivering his speech to Nigerians, he made a powerful statement which generated a lot of reactions from well meaning individuals which was that ”fuel subsidy is gone”.
Many were of the opinion that before making such pronouncement publicly, he should have liased with relevant individuals in the petrol sector as well as business people on how the policy would not affect the lives of the citizens, but unfortunately, everyone is currently facing the consequences of this decision which has been made by the President, leading to increase in fuel prices across board and other services. After this incident, the presidency was reported to have given governors specific amount of money for palliatives to be distributed in their states as measures to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal .
Meanwhile, some Nigerians are of the opinion that governors of the thirty six states in the country seem not to be trusted based on the fact that they [ the people] find it difficult to make a living but should it be said that the governors are not doing their best?
Going across various streets to look at the way things are, one can depict that the masses are struggling to cope with the harsh economy which has affected so many businesses and organization. A recent update that is still shocking everyone is the high cost of goods and services most especially rice which is now eighty thousand naira, cement now ten thousand naira per bag.
According to reliable sources, Nigerians have started expressing their displeasure as regards this situation saying that there need to be a positive change in Leadership as well as orientation.
In an update posted on social social media, a popular Nigerian comedian , Seyilaw has accused governors of not showing concerning towards the plight of the people. However, you may want to ask that is the comedian right to described the governors as shameless people who are not concerned about what is going on?
In an interview with an educationist, Segun Balogun, he lamented that the cost of living in Nigeria has created so many problems as the masses are finding it difficult to leave and cater for their loved ones. It would interest you to know that this situation has affected the teaching profession.
According to a report published by Business Day Newspaper of today , teachers in some schools have started refusing to go to school due to the low income that is being paid and the question is, how would they survive with their family members in this economy?
Some days ago, a woman in Ibadan was reported to have collapsed at Oja Oba market as a result of this calamity because of the fact that she has not been able to afford money to eat and take care of herself.
It is high time the president fulfills his campaign promises by showing us that he is fit to occupy the seat of a president . Your excellency Mr President, Nigerians are looking up to you to do the needful by addressing the public about this development and not only that, but act fast in order to show that you indeed feel the pains we are going through before it escalates to an uncontrollable protest in our dear nation.
Though, we are not all perfect and no idea can be proven perfect unless it is first tested. While am also critically affected by the
impact of the fuel subsidy removal but I will not in any way have supported the huge amount given to the governors because it will be polictised which President himself know. My consideration will be that specific amount be earmarked for civil servants and pensioners because as it stands today, government is the highest employer of Labour in our country. If the workers purchasing capacity is heightened, there will be much money in circulation to cushion the effects of subsidy removal.
Besides, I would have loved to see large amount of money reported being saved from subsidy removal invested in power sector as this will increase our country power generating capacity which have the potential to draw massive investments into the country because where there is 24hrs power supply, industries will depend less on diesel, which will ultimately bring down the prices of manufactured products. However, giving this money to our governors to share with the less privileged will be abused. Once the power sector is normalised, every other important sector can be attended to in their level of importance and urgency.