The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government is rapidly creating two different worlds – one for the leaders, and the other for the rest of the citizenry.

On the very hour he was sworn in on May 29, 2023, he fast-forwarded the implementation of the petrol subsidy removal, which was supposed to take effect from the end of June. He told Nigerians that he shared their feelings (the biting effects of the policy), and urged them to bear the “pains of childbirth” as they would soon be overjoyed when the baby arrived.

The pains are overwhelming, with prices hitting the roofs. Few people can afford the cost of petrol which has risen from N180 per litre to over N600 in most parts of the country. Many vehicles are off the roads, and generators which used to hum everywhere due to epileptic power supply, have gone silent in most places.

Industries are hard-hit, and many are either laying off staff or failing to pay salaries.

We are told that the number of multidimensionally poor Nigerians has risen from 133 million to 142 million due to Tinubu’s economic policies.

The least we expected, in the midst of the mass misery, was for the Federal Government, in rolling out the measures to cushion the effects of the pain on the people, to adopt policies that would benefit everyone. Instead, the ruling party is taking us back to the discredited “cash transfers” which will only offer N8,000 per month pittances for “12 million” families, and only for six months. We fear that this cash bonanza may end up in the pockets of highly connected party members and political cronies.

To worsen matters, President Tinubu offered a N70 billion welfare package to new members of the National Assembly, while the leadership of the National Assembly are lining up N40 billion for 465 exotic, bullet-proof cars for members.

Compared to the N500 billion set aside for the so-called palliative measures, it shows that 469 members will consume more than a quarter of that amount.

Clearly, our elected politicians are not interested in sharing the pains they are imposing on us. This is unacceptable. If Tinubu continues on this path he might end up a spectacular disaster like his predecessor, Buhari.

We join in the call for the immediate suspension of these bonanzas for politicians. The leaders and the led must share in the pains of any reforms.

Safety net policies must positively touch all Nigerians, not a few who cannot even be verified. These packages will grease the wheel of corruption and could lead to upheavals.

Tinubu must cut the cost of governance and adopt austerity measures to steer the country out of the economic turbulence we face.

We must take the baby steps together.

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