The pervading hardship trailing President Bola Tinubu’s young administration, which seems to have defied every solution, may have put a big question mark on the veracity of his claim and promise to turn around the country with his Renewed Hope agenda.

During and after his campaigns, he emphatically assured Nigerians that his renewed hope agenda would define his commitment to unleashing the country’s full economic potential by focusing on job creation, access to capital for small and large businesses, inclusiveness, the rule of law, and the fight against hunger, poverty and corruption.

But nine months into his administration, there doesn’t seem to be any serious measures to actualise his campaign promises even as the storm has continued to escalate, rise and surge dangerously in every part of the country, threatening to cripple and decapitate many Nigerians each passing minute and hour.

Things are getting so bad that many Nigerians, hitherto sympathetic to the government since he was announced the President-elect in February last year, seem to be disappointed just less than one year into the administration.

Their situation is understandable. Things, getting from bad to worse must have necessitated turning their expectations into a mirage and pipe dream. By the day, hopelessness, anomie and helplessness, have continued to multiply and discourage them.

In fact, for many Nigerians, the hue and cry against the immediate past All Progressives Congress (APC) administration led by President Muhmmadu Buhari was unjustifiable compared to what they are currently experiencing.

In the opinions of some critical observers, the current situation can be likened to a Bible reference that if Buhari laid on Nigerians a heavy yoke, President Tinubu is making it even heavierm; and if Buhari had scourged Nigerians with whips, Tinubu is scourging them with scorpions.

And, for many students of history, what is happening now was Buhari’s foretold prophecy when he warned Nigerians critical of him then, that they would not only miss him out of power but also appreciate him more a few months after his leaving office.

His predictions may have started manifesting earlier than expected in the life of this administration. Tinubu promised renewed hope but Nigerians are questioning the manner of renewed hope they are experiencing with the prevailing harsh economic situation suffocating them even at this embryonic stage of his regime.

Deteriorating economy, insecurity, uncertainty, maladministration and soaring cost of living are the order of the day even as virtually all sectors seem to be crashing, crumbling and collapsing, agonisingly, on the heads of many Nigerians.

The poor, middle class and rich alike are endlessly crying and feeling the pangs of the economic woes currently ravaging the country without any hope of ameliorating anytime soon.

Tinubu equally seems to be helpless. He has only banked on repeated promises of fixing the problems, instead of deploying pragmatic intervention strategies to turn around the declining fortunes of the country facing the stark realities of apprehension and bleakness.

He kept reminding Nigerians that he was feeling their pains, begging them to endure for a better future, but he has watched them go through befuddling excruciating plights.

Instead of showing genuine sympathy, he rather insensitively demanded his inclusion in the Guinness World Book of Records for inflicting sorrow, pain and agony on Nigerians with the singular decision to remove fuel subsidy from day one of his administration without any economic antidote.

To many Nigerians, nine months of the current government have become tantamount to nine years in hell. And from every corner, the patience of Nigerians is gradually and understandably waning. Hunger, extreme levels of hardship, economic quagmire and hopelessness have pushed them to the wall and a point of no return.

While enduring patiently as President Tinubu pleaded, some Nigerians have sold their belongings, including and surprisingly, too, children, just to feed and survive the realities of the harsh pangs of the economy.

They have watched and lamented helplessly the skyrocketing cost of living rising beyond their reach. Commodities, especially staple foodstuff like rice, beans and yam, among many others, have become ostentatious items.

Many have even resorted to begging to survive; several others are feeding from the dustbins, while many of the disenchanted and disillusioned youths have taken to crime and criminality like robbery, kidnapping, banditry, ‘one-chance’ crime, economic fraud in the mode of ‘Yahoo-Yahoo’, ‘Yahoo-Plus’ as surest means of survival and quickest alternative to get out of the woods.

And because there is a limit to the endurance strength of many Nigerians, their anger seems to be threatening to erupt and explode in the faces of many countrymen and women.

From Ogun to Sokoto, from Niger to Osun and Kano states, tension is building up with mild stings and flash protests organised by women and youths to register their anger and disappointment. The endless complaints and warning signals to the government from eminent Nigerians to urgently find a solution to the deteriorating situation are also becoming louder.

One of such brash voices was the one from the Sultan of Sokoto, and chairman of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar lll, who warned that beyond the country currently sitting on keg of gunpowder, there is a limit to the capacity of northern leaders to hold the youths from flooding the streets to protest against economic hardship.

Hear him: “We must find jobs for our teeming youths that are sitting idle and, I have said it so many times, we are sitting on a keg of gunpowder, having teeming youths, millions of them, without jobs, without food, we are looking for trouble.”

He further lamented that the two monsters confronting the nation at the moment are poverty and insecurity, warning that if they are not tackled urgently, they could spell doom for Nigeria.

“The traditional leaders, being closest to the people, have had the onerous task of calming down nerves, assuring the people that things would be okay. We have entered into a new cycle of leadership, some new governors have come on board, while some are having their second term and still we are faced with these insecurity issues.

“To make matters worse, we are faced with rising levels of poverty of most of our people; lack of normal sources of livelihood by the common man to have even a good meal a day. But insecurity and the rising level of poverty are two issues that we cannot fold our arms and think everything is okay. I have said it so many times and at so many fora that things are not okay in Nigeria and of course, things are not okay in the North.

“What are the real issues bringing about poverty and rising cases of insecurity? I don’t think it is the issue of the new government. There should be no pretence that all is well with the country, Nigerians are more than ever before agitated because they are hungry and angry.”

Surprisingly, he was quick to exonerate President Tinubu but noted that the current sorry state of the nation was the continuation of the last administration of the APC. “To me, this government is a continuation of the former government; it is the same party. So, what really is the problem?

“And let’s not take it for granted; people are quiet, they are quiet for a reason because people have been talking to them; we have been talking to them. We have been trying to tell them things will be okay and they keep on believing. We have reached that level, people are very agitated, people are hungry, they are angry but they still believe some people can talk to them,” he warned.

Shockingly, in what looked like applying salt to an already painful wound, the leaders of the ruling party, the APC, and the presidency may not have been tactful in handling the matters, judging by certain inflammatory utterances from them.

For example, instead of countering the protests, especially in Minna and Kano by convincing Nigerians with turnaround sound economic policies and enumerating litanies of achievements the Federal Government have recorded, they rather chose to blame the opposition parties as the unseen hands of the devil behind those fuelling the protests.

In a statement the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, issued in Abuja recently accusing the opposition parties of being the brain behind the protests, he boldly claimed that the protests were not just mere coincidence.

Describing it as a desperate move to portray the APC-led administration as underperforming, Morka stressed that; “the protests in Minna and Kano were the manifestation of this devious and unpatriotic plot. That the protests happened simultaneously in both cities is not coincidental. It bears the bold stamp of an orchestrated and coordinated effort to instigate unrest and undermine the government.

“This mercenary opposition tactic is a clear and present threat to public peace and national security. While we recognise the right of citizens to engage in peaceful protest, we urge our good people to be vigilant and not lend themselves to the treacherous attempt by the opposition to promote social strife through its incendiary rhetoric and manipulative plots.

“The President Bola Tinubu-led administration is solidly committed to doing everything in its power to mitigate the transient pains of critically important reforms that are crucial to economic recovery and sustainable prosperity for all Nigerians. It behoves us as good citizens of our beloved country to stand fast with our government in this noble stride.

“In due time, these policy reforms will yield an enduring beneficial transformation of the material conditions of life in the country. We implore Nigerians to shun the guile and unpatriotic attempt by opposition elements to destabilise the country for their own base and parochial political gains.”

But, to confirm how many Nigerians took the statement from the APC as more or less an inflationary remark, torrential attacks were hauled at the leadership of the ruling party. The first to cast a stone was their chieftain, and former National Vice Chairman North-West, Salihu Mohd Lukman. He described it as dishonest and uncharitable of his party to blame the opposition for the protests in some states.

Lukman, in his statement, flayed the ruling party, noting that; “the protests confirmed that the situation is only getting worse with prices of food items beyond the reach of most Nigerians. If truth must be told, there is hunger in the land! As a committed member of APC, it is very depressing that this is happening under the leadership of our party.

“Even more depressing was the statement Morka issued, alleging that opposition parties are behind the protests. For him to issue such a very dishonest statement points to only one thing: that the leadership of our party have completely lost it and at this rate, their political utility value is zero. This clearly suggests that even the old pretences about being progressive have been thrown to the dogs.”

Sounding very critical of the current administration derailing from its renewed hope agenda, Lukman wrote: “Once the government is unable to settle these issues, it is predictable that the cost of living will continue to go up. Once prices of necessities are beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians, citizens will respond in the streets to compel our leaders to do the needful. This is the value of democracy,” the APC chieftain wrote, insinuating that the protests would maybe compel President Tinubu to focus on the real issues.

However, for another APC chieftain, former National Organising Secretary, Barr Emma Ibediro, the worsening situation perhaps could be what Nigerians must experience before getting to the Eldorado, even though they have to be alive to get to that stage.

Speaking to Daily Sun on the state of the nation, Ibediro suggested that; “if Nigeria is too big the way it is now, for us to believe in ourselves, there is nothing wrong in having a loose confederacy where certain decisions are taken at regional levels. But every region must pay allegiance to the Federal Government.

“I am in a very difficult situation to assess President Tinubu now because I don’t believe he intends what is happening now to happen. I don’t believe that he is confused. So, there is a fundamental problem that needs to be sorted out for things to flow.

“I was among those excited when he removed the fuel subsidy, but the effects have created doubts about whether it is the best decision. Where I am confused is whereas the poor are made to feel the impact of the subsidy removal, we are not getting any sign that the government wants to bring down the cost of governance, especially in spending humongous amounts of money to buy new vehicles for government officials even when they have existing official vehicles.

“If the masses have to adjust, the government must also show that semblance of adjustment in the cost of governance. The poverty in the land has levelled everybody and there is no class again. Everybody is almost at the same level now. Nobody can maintain a certain level of living in the country today. Businesses are running at a loss and investors are lamenting.”

But bringing a message of hope recently as usual, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, though admitted that the country is going through hell, however assured that President Tinubu is working hard to ensure that the economic challenges are surmounted very soon.

He said: “The task of nation-building is for every citizen. The government has its role to play in policy formulation, creation of the enabling environment, provision of infrastructure, and giving all Nigerians equal opportunity to excel. The citizens also have roles to play in making the government achieve its objectives.

“Obviously, the country is facing some challenges, just like other nations the world over. However, the government is making serious efforts to solve the problems. Although the expected outcomes may be late in coming, surely we shall get there. That is the vision of President Tinubu-led government. In all, I do not doubt that the government is working tirelessly to ensure that our tomorrow will be better than today. Therefore, let us support the government to make Nigeria great again.”

But no matter how soothing his appeal and that of others might sound, many have expressed fears that Nigeria’s economy never succumbs to the law of gravity which stipulates that everything that goes up must come down.

“What magic will President Tinubu perform to crash the high-rising prices of items? Most housing projects have been suspended because of the current cost of cement, hitting an unimaginable rate of over N10,000. What about foodstuff, and more curiously inflation soaring to an all-time high?

“Nigerians are not asking for too much. We have enough arable lands to achieve food sufficiency but the government must demonstrate political will in taming the monster of farmers, and herders’ clashes disrupting food production. Once herders can allow farmers to return to their farms without molestation, Nigeria will not only achieve food sufficiency but also produce for imports.

“But I think Nigerians should give Tinubu more time to get things right. And like some will say, the government is guilty of its speed. The level of deteriorated economy is high and cannot be fixed within one year in office,” a political leader told Daily Sun in confidence. (Daily Sun)

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