Days after General Abdourahamane Tiani declared himself Niger’s new leader, a picture is emerging of the little-known presidential guard commander who overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum last week.

In his announcement on state TV on July 28, Tiani denounced domestic corruption and management of Niger’s security, while pledging to honor international partnerships that have made it a key ally for governments fighting Islamist militants in West Africa.

But democratic backsliding in the country — also one of the world’s top uranium producers — may make it difficult for the United Nations and the West to continue their support. Such a move could open the door for Russia, which has expanded its influence across the region in recent years, partly through the Wagner Group.

While Tiani seems to have the support of all units of the army for now, Niger’s neighbors, the European Union, the US and former colonial power France have all called for the reinstatement of Bazoum — who has yet to step down.

Here are six things we know about Tiani:

1. He is close to former President Mahamadou Issoufou, who appointed Tiani to head the presidential guard in 2011 and promoted him to the rank of general in 2018. Issoufou was an important partner of the West — launching both a landmark deal with the EU to stem the flow of migrants in 2015 and allowing the US to build a drone base to target extremists in Libya and the broader region.

2. His forces repelled a coup attempt in March 2021, when a military unit from a nearby army base tried to seize the presidential palace only 48 hours before Bazoum was set be sworn in. Bazoum’s election marked Niger’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence in 1960. Upon taking office, he kept Tiani as the head of the presidential guard, a special unit of about 700 soldiers.

3. In his address, Tiani criticized Bazoum’s security strategy, which he claimed excludes any genuine collaboration with Burkina Faso and Mali, even though the tri-border region between the three countries is a key zone for terrorist activities. He also criticized the release of “terrorist leaders.”

4. Tiani is from the northwestern Tillaberi region near Niger’s border with Mali, which has been at the heart of Islamic State-linked violence for years. At 59, he’s much older than the soldiers who have come to power in neighboring countries in the past three years. The leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad were all in their 30s when they took control.

5. Before joining Issoufou’s personal security, Tiani led forces in the southern Zinder region near the border with Nigeria and in the northern Agadez region, which for centuries has been a hub for traffickers of migrants, contraband and illicit goods crossing the Sahara Desert. Tiani is “very discreet” and “very close to Issoufou,” former Agadez mayor Rhissa Ag Feltou said by phone.

“He’s someone who knows the system very well. He was part of the system for over a decade,” he said. “Now he turned against it at a time when the country’s suffering. These are difficult times for Niger, maybe the most challenging period in our country’s history.”

6. Tiani, a decorated general, served in UN peacekeeping missions in Ivory Coast, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The once military attaché for Niger in Germany, received training in France, Morocco and the US before joining the presidential guard. He is associated with modernization of the unit and blocking several coup attempts.

“He points at all the problems; the corruption, the bad governance, the mismanagement of state funds,” Rhissa said. “Can he solve them? That remains to be seen.”

Bloomberg

A peacebuilding think tank, Foundation for Peace Professionals also known as PeacePro, has warned the leadership of the African Union (AU) and ECOWAS against military intervention in Niger Republic.

PeacePro also noted that no foreign nation or organization has authority to intervene militarily in any sovereign nation over internal issues.

Executive Director of the group, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, in a statement said it supported the strong position of African Union and ECOWAS on the restoration of democratic order in Niger Republic and all other proposed measures, except military intervention.

He warned that military intervention would turn West Africa into a battle zone between foreign powers and armed dealers.

He stated that no matter the good intentions behind it, the outcome will be catastrophic for the continent.

Hamzat also explained that, no international law permits military intervention in any country, except for peacekeeping operations and should AU and ECOWAS contemplate such intervention, foreign powers may also justify their numerous illegal operations and other future interventions through the same process.

“Military intervention in Niger Republic amounts to digging Africa’s grave and nobody digs his or her own grave,” Hamzat added.

Daily Trust

President Bola Tinubu has appointed a Special Investigator to probe the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Related Entities.

In a letter sighted by Daily Trust, the president named Jim Obazee, former Chief Executive Officer, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), as the investigator.

The President asked the Special Investigator to investigate CBN and key Government Business Entities (GBEs).

He also said Obazee would report directly to his office.

“In accordance with the fundamental objective set forth in Section 15(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), this administration is, today, continuing the fight against corruption by appointing you as a Special Investigator, to investigate the CBN and Related Entities. This appointment shall be with immediate effect and you are to report directly to my office.”

“The full terms of your engagement as Special Investigator shall be communicated to you in due course but, require that you immediately take steps to ensure the strengthening and probity of key Government Business Entities (GBEs), further block leakages in CBN and related GBEs and provide a comprehensive report on public wealth currently in the hands of corrupt individuals and establishments (whether private or public).

“You are to investigate the CBN and related entities using a suitably experienced, competent and capable team and work with relevant security and anti-corruption agencies to deliver on this assignment. I shall expect a weekly briefing on the progress being made,” the letter read.

The president also sent a copy of his directive suspending Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the CBN on June 9, 2023.

Emefiele has been in DSS custody since then. He was arraigned in court last week and granted bail but the secret police rearrested him.

Daily Trust

Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said that all customers have the right to a refund when overbilled by their respective distribution companies (DisCos).

The Commission shared this insight via an awareness video on its Twitter handle on Friday, July 28.

The Commission’s website also lists all the rights of electricity customers in the country. The rights are outlined as follows:

• All new electricity connections must be made strictly based on metering before connection. That is, no new customer should be connected by a DisCo without a meter first being installed at the premises.
• All customers have the right to electricity supply in a safe and reliable manner.
• All customers have the right to a properly installed and functional meter.
• All customers have the right to be properly informed and educated about the electricity service.
• All customers have the right to transparent electricity billing.
• All un-metered customers should be issued with electricity bills strictly based on NERC’s estimated billing methodology.
• It is the customer’s right to be notified in writing before any disconnection of electricity service by the DisCo, following NERC’s guidelines.
• All customers have the right to receive a refund for overbilling.
• Customers have the right to file complaints and prompt investigations of complaints regarding electricity supply and other billing issues. They should send all complaints to the nearest business unit of the DisCo serving them.
• If a complaint is not satisfactorily addressed, customers have the right to escalate the issue to the NERC Forum Office within the coverage area of the DisCo. Furthermore, customers have the right to appeal the decision of the NERC Forum Office by writing a petition to the Commission.
• It is the customer’s right to contest any electricity bill.
• Any un-metered customer disputing their estimated bill has the right not to pay the disputed bill. They should only pay the last undisputed bill while the contested bill goes through the dispute resolution process of NERC.
• Finally, it is not the responsibility of electricity customers or communities to buy, replace, or repair electricity transformers, poles, and related equipment used in the supply of electricity.”

Contrary testimonies

Nairametrics recently came across disgruntled customers who have overbilling issues and have reached out to their DisCos, yet there has been no refund.

Imoh Heavens, an estimated billing customer in Port Harcourt, told our correspondent that he has been visiting the Port Harcourt distribution company for a prepaid meter and was told to settle his arrears, which did not make any sense.

He said that sometime in 2022, his district had no power supply for 6 months, yet the DisCo brought bills for that period.

He stated further that he cannot pay for what he did not use. He said:

“These people are sucking us dry; they only provide prepaid meters to the rich people and those living in the estates. Last I heard, the cost of prepaid meters was N140,000 for the 3-phased and N78,000 for the 2-phased.

“How can someone have faith in DisCos and NERC? I have lost faith in them. Are they being regulated? Prior to this time, I was paying N7,000 to N9,000 at most, now it is between N17,000 and N20,000, where will I get the money from?

“I see all kinds of directives but are they being implemented? The other time our transformer got bad, it was a rich resident who replaced it for us, the DisCo does not care.”

Meanwhile, an Ikeja resident, Mrs. Christina Aleyideino said that in August 2022, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (Ikeja Electric) suddenly stopped reading post-paid meters calling them obsolete.

Meanwhile, her attempts to get prepaid meter has proved unfruitful.

According to her, the DisCo can send a monthly bill of up to N40,000/month for a family of two people, which is outrageous, considering the level of power consumption that does not tally.

She has made several attempts to make complaints at Ikeja Electric with no success.

She however expressed joy that the National Assembly has taken steps to ensure that overbilling by DisCos is criminalized in the country.

Nairametrics

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine reports fierce fighting in northeast

A senior Ukrainian official reported heavy fighting in the northeast of the country on Sunday, with Kyiv's forces holding their lines and making gains in some areas.

Russia's military said it had halted Ukrainian forces in the northeast. The military also said it brought down down three Ukrainian drones which had tried to strike Moscow and damaged a high-rise building reported to house government offices.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described Sunday as "a good day, a powerful day" at the front, particularly near Bakhmut, where Ukrainian forces say they are retaking ground lost when Russian forces took the city in May.

Ukraine did not directly claim responsibility for the drone attacks but Zelenskiy said the war was "gradually returning to Russia's territory - to its symbolic centres".

Russian forces launched the latest in a series of night-time air attacks, striking what officials said was a "non-residential building" in the northeastern city of Kharkiv. The hit started a fire but there were no reports of casualties.

Zelenskiy reported that the death toll in a Russian strike on a school in the northern town of Sumy on Saturday had risen to two after rescue teams cleared rubble from the site.

Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Russian forces were "trying to drive us out" of elevated positions in the northeast occupied by Moscow after its February 2022 invasion, but retaken later by Ukrainian troops.

The Russians' key task, she told national television, was to "divert our forces from the Bakhmut area, where we have a successful offensive".

"They have attacked endlessly this week. But our troops resist the attacks and sometimes push them back with heavy losses," she said.

Maliar said the Russians had suffered "no fewer losses than during the heated battles in Bakhmut", which fell to Russian forces after more than 10 months of fighting.

Ukraine last month launched a counter offensive focusing on a southward campaign to drive a wedge between Russian forces holding territory in the east and the annexed Crimean peninsula, and on winning back ground around Bakhmut.

But fierce fighting has also flared around the Ukrainian -held northeastern towns of Kupiansk and Lyman.

Maliar said Russian forces were also "tenaciously trying to seize back" areas on the southern front taken by Ukraine.

Ukraine, she said, had recaptured 200 sq. km. (77 sq. miles) in the south, but advances were limited by entrenched Russian positions and mines.

Russia's Defence Ministry, in its daily account of military activity, said its forces had spotted and deployed rockets to destroy an аrmoured brigade of Ukrainian troops near Svatove, a key Russian-held town in the northeast.

Russian forces, it said, had also repelled four Ukrainian attacks near the town of Lyman, further south.

The battlefield accounts could not be independently verified.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russia’s Battlegroup South helicopters destroy tank, two armored personnel carriers

Army aviation helicopter crews destroyed a tank and two armored personnel vehicles, including a US-made M113, in the Donetsk People's Republic settlements of Kleshcheevka and Andreevka near Artemovsk, head of the group’s press center Vadim Astafyev told TASS.

"The aviation forces of the Battlegroup South attacked four points of temporary deployment of Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the Soledar-Artemovsk direction. In addition, the crews of army aviation helicopters destroyed a tank and two armored personnel carriers, one of them a US M113, near the settlements of Kleshcheevka and Andreevka," he stated.

He also added that the artillery of Russia’s Battlegroup South hit an ammunition depot and a launch site for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the areas of the settlements of Krasnoye and Belaya Gora in the Donetsk People's Republic.

"Special forces units of Russia’s Battlegroup South identified and then destroyed by artillery fire three infantry groups with a total strength of up to 14 Ukrainian servicemen, a machine-gun crew, a self-propelled artillery mount, and a mortar in their positions near the settlements of Dyleyevka, Ozaryanovka, Spornoye, Pobeda and Maryinka," he added.

** Russian Navy to receive 30 combat ships this year — Putin

Russia persistently builds up the might of its Navy that will receive 30 combat ships of various classes this year alone, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Main Naval Parade on the occasion of Russia’s Navy Day on Sunday.

"Today Russia confidently implements its large-scale objectives of the national maritime policy and persistently builds up the might of its Navy. This year alone, 30 warships of various classes will join it," the Russian leader said.

The combat ships that have entered service with the Russian Navy include the missile corvette Merkury named in honor of the Black Sea Fleet’s sailing ship that gained its glory in the 1828-1829 Russo-Turkish War, the head of state pointed out.

"It is good that the tradition of giving its name to Russian Navy ships has been revived. The St. George’s naval flag was raised aboard the new Merkury as a sign of our preserved naval traditions, a symbol of courage, valor and steadfastness of naval sailors," Putin said, stressing that "these qualities are displayed in full today as well."

This year, Russia’s Main Naval Parade on the Neva River and in the Kronshtadt roadstead involved 45 combat ships, gunboats and submarines of the Northern, Pacific, Baltic and Black Sea Fleets and about 3,000 troops.

Reuters/Tass

Given all the uncertainty in the world economy today, we have been reminded that for all the authority economics commands, it is still a social science. Many major developments over the past year have departed from the consensus forecast, exposing the limitations of our understanding.

Most notably, many experts and forecasters predicted a recession in the United States this year. But not only have we avoided that (so far); the latest inflation figures have led many sell-side forecasters to write down the probability of a recession happening at all. Suddenly, financial markets are entertaining the idea that policymakers can indeed achieve a soft landing: inflation returns toward its target level (around 2%) without the need for a recession and a sharp increase in unemployment. Equity markets thus are rising, despite remarkably (and perhaps understandably) cautious investor sentiment.

The situation across the Atlantic is also overturning forecasts. Although the United Kingdom’s economy seems to be constantly beleaguered – with GDP growth remaining meager – it nonetheless has avoided a technical recession (defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth). Will the next positive surprise be a sharp reduction in inflation? One issue that pessimists (including the Bank of England) focus on is wage inflation, which summons comparisons to the 1970s wage-price spiral. That episode inaugurated the long era of monetarist orthodoxy, which required that stringent anti-inflation measures take priority over most other economic-policy objectives.

Given the complexity of the UK’s macroeconomic situation, I am still waiting to see if the new optimism sticks. It is worth remembering that, before the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, the UK government was a vocal advocate of higher real (inflation-adjusted) wages. Now, its wish is being granted: labor representatives are determined to seek higher nominal wages in response to the sharp, unexpected increases in consumer prices. Policymakers thus should be praying for headline inflation to fall significantly, as that would allow them to claim credit for boosting real wages without the need for an increase in nominal pay.

Another irony, in the UK and some other countries, is the role of monetary growth as a leading indicator of inflationary pressure. Following the large monetary and fiscal stimulus packages rolled out during the pandemic, commentators who focus on the money supply predicted, accurately, that inflation would increase. But many of these commentators had been saying the same thing for the past decade, in response to central banks’ unconventional monetary policies. Their forecasts were wrong until Covid-19 arrived. If they are monetarist true believers, they should be advocating less monetary tightening now that growth in the money supply has slowed.

Between the slight weakening of commodity prices, slower monetary growth, the significant increases in interest rates, and the general stability of long-term inflation expectations, I see good reasons to side, cautiously, with the optimistic camp. But I would hasten to add that central bankers must remain vigilant in guarding against any return to the 1970s.

As always, much will depend on China. After the government abruptly ended its “zero-Covid” policy late last year, growth briefly shot up, and analysts rushed to revise their forecasts. But over the past three months, Chinese economic growth has been disappointing, forcing many to revise their forecasts once again.

Moreover, there is no sign of increased inflation in China, challenging the long-held assumption that China would eventually go from exporting deflation to exporting inflation. True, some might say that the redirection of business and investment away from China will be inflationary; but I have my doubts, considering that some of these moves will be to countries with even lower costs than China. In any case, Chinese policymakers clearly will need to address the weakening of growth and consumption, not to mention other major problems such as rising youth unemployment.

Looking ahead, a major variable to watch will be global commodity prices, which have undergone a surprising reversal since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But it is not clear why that happened or whether it is sustainable. My own hunch is that there have been larger-than-expected shifts toward efficient energy consumption and a wider adoption of alternatives than what was forecasted. But we will need more time and data to determine whether this is really the case.

For the past two decades, it has been fashionable among academic economists to assume that excess global savings have resulted in a lower natural rate of interest. While I respect many of those who held this view, I was never convinced by it, because I saw low interest rates as a consequence of persistently lower-than-expected inflation, which in turn justified accommodative monetary policies. Perhaps now reality is starting to catch up. If so, the long-term “new normal” would be much more normal indeed. Interest rates, finally, would remain above the actual or desired level of inflation.

Project Syndicate

Bosses are being pulled in all directions by tough new rules of the game. How should they respond?

Chief executives have long had to be contortionists, balancing the needs of employees, suppliers and above all shareholders while staying within the limits set by governments. But the twisting and stretching is now more fiendish than ever. The world is becoming dangerous and disorderly as governments try to manipulate corporate behaviour. Global companies and their bosses find themselves being pulled in all directions.

Few multinationals are unscathed. As tensions between China and America ratchet up, chipmakers from Micron to Nvidia have been the target of sanctions. TikTok, a Chinese-owned short-video app, is in the sights of American lawmakers. The Biden administration’s plans to curb outbound investment will encompass private-equity giants and venture capitalists. Once-staid carmakers now find their investments in the spotlight, as countries vie to host the next electric-vehicle factory. China’s tech behemoths have been tamed by Xi Jinping. Everyone from bankers to brewers has been ensnared in America’s toxic culture wars.

All this rips up the unspoken agreement between government and business that held sway in America and much of the West after the 1970s. Businesses aimed for shareholder value, by maximising wealth for their owners, promising efficiency, prosperity and jobs. Governments set taxes and wrote rules but broadly left business alone. Although the gains of the system were not evenly spread across society, trade flourished and consumers benefited from greater choice and cheaper goods.

The rules have changed. Governments are becoming more dirigiste, spurred by fragile supply chains in the pandemic, a more menacing China and the dangers of climate change. Company ceos need a new approach for a new age.

Businesses’ re-entry into politics began in the run-up to the Trump era. By taking a stand on social issues bosses saw a way to signal their distaste for populism—and surely also a way to signal their virtue to their employees and customers. It was around this time that Larry Fink, the boss of BlackRock, America’s largest asset manager, became a proponent of investing using environmental, social and governance principles, or esg.

Yet instead of solving social problems, that seemed only to deepen divisions. As we set out in an extended profile, Mr Fink has been demonised by the right for going too far and the left for not going far enough. He is not alone. Disney’s former boss, Bob Chapek, waged a battle over gay rights with Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, one reason he lost his job. In Britain Dame Alison Rose, head of NatWest, has resigned over the bank’s cancellation of the Brexiteer Nigel Farage, partly over his political views. Such encounters bruise egos but do little for the long-term bottom line.

The real front is broader and the stakes are higher. Governments seem to be everywhere all at once. They want to correct the problems of globalisation by winning back manufacturing jobs. They want to enhance national security by protecting vital technologies. And they want to fight climate change by speeding up decarbonisation.

Each aim is worthy in its own terms. But the means to bring it about are flawed, or involve trade-offs. Manufacturing jobs are not the high-earning prize they are cracked up to be. Roughly $1trn of green subsidies in America will reduce efficiency and raise costs for firms and consumers. America says national security requires “a small yard and high fence”, but unless policymakers are clear about the risks from subsidies, export controls and investment curbs, the yard is likely to get bigger and the fence grow taller. These convulsions affect big firms far more than arguments over who should use which bathroom. Yet, out of joint after the wokelash, few bosses are prepared to say so.

Some companies are wrapping themselves in the flag, so as to become national champions. That has long been the norm in places like China and India, but it is heading West. After Intel broke ground on two chipmaking fabs in America last year, Pat Gelsinger, its head, said that he “could feel the national pride welling up”. Similar jingoism is on display over generative AI. Grandees of venture capital such as Marc Andreessen express horror at the risks of Chinese ai conquering the world.

Others hope that by keeping under the radar, they will avoid political flak. Taking their cue from Jack Ma, the once-outspoken boss of Alibaba who was mercilessly brought to heel by the Chinese government, ceos have ducked out of public view. Pony Ma, the founder of Tencent, surfaced recently only to pay lip service to new guidelines set by the Chinese Communist Party. In America Shein, a fast-fashion giant that is a favourite with Gen Z shoppers, does its best to hide its Chinese roots. So does TikTok, which says it is a “myth” that Bytedance, its owner, is Chinese. Among Western CEOs even a loudmouth like Elon Musk is learning the value of silence in China. His recent visit to Tesla’s factory in Shanghai provided no media access. He did not even tweet.

Yet both of these strategies could easily go wrong. Patriotic cheerleading is a problem when you do business elsewhere in the world. Intel is building fabs not just in America but in Germany, too. The average American multinational has eight foreign subsidiaries; a giant like General Motors has a hundred. And what the boss may see as a stealthy below-the-radar strategy can look to others like sticking your head in the sand. Just ask an American lawmaker where they think TikTok is from.

Corner-office diplomacy

What to do? In a fractious world, businesses cannot hide from politics and geopolitics. But the lesson of the wokelash is that outspokenness can backfire. When deciding whether to speak up, bosses of global firms should use long-term shareholder value as their lodestar. The more directly what they say affects their business, the more credibility they have and the less risk of appearing a fraud or a hypocrite.

This approach may include reminding politicians of the benefits that efficiency and openness once brought to economies around the world. When governments seem to contain a dearth of champions for either, that would be no bad thing.

Governor of Adamawa State has declared a 24-hour curfew across the state as some residents broke into government and private food stores on Sunday.

Witnesses told our correspondent that the looters complained of hardship following the removal of fuel subsidy and the high cost of foodstuff.

“Aside from food items, people were also seen with items such as generator sets, mattresses, and other non-food items were said to have been looted from stores owned by private individuals,” a resident, Manu Haruna, said.

Chief press secretary to the governor, Humwashi Wonosikou, announced the curfew Sunday afternoon.

He said the government was compelled to announce the sit-at-home order to check the activities of the hoodlums in the state capital looting shops and stores.

“The Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, has declared a 24-hour curfew on the state, effective immediately Sunday 30th July 2023.

“Governor Fintiri said the curfew followed the dangerous dimension activities of hoodlums had assumed across the state capital as they attacked people with matches and broke into business premises carting away property.

“With the curfew imposed, there will be no movement throughout the state.

“Fintiri said only those on essential duties with valid identification would be permitted to move around during the period of the curfew.

“The Governor is appealing to citizens and residents of the state to comply with the directive, adding that any person found contravening the order would be arrested and made to face the wrath of the law, Wonosikou wrote in the Sunday press release.

The police command in the state similarly released a statement warning residents to be law-abiding and stay away from chaotic activities.

The state’s commissioner of police, Afolabi Babatola, said he had deployed a team drawn from different units to enforce the 24-hour curfew declared by the state government.

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), on Sunday, announced a one-week ultimatum for coup plotters in Niger to return the democratically elected government or risk the use of force.

“… in the event the authorities demands are not met within one week, take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger such measures may include the use of force,” the ECOWAS communique states. It was read by ECOWAS Commission chairperson, Omar Touray, at the Extraordinary Summit convened in response to the development in Niger.

To this effect, all ECOWAS Chiefs of Defense Staff are to meet immediately. The defence chiefs were charged with holding accountable all those responsible for violence and terror against the lives and property of innocent citizens and residents of Niger.

Reading out the communique in Abuja, Touray noted that the bloc had collectively reached several resolutions including that President Mohammed Bazoum remains the legitimate elected president and head of state of the Republic of Niger as recognised by ECOWAS, AU and the international community.

Again, ECOWAS condemned in the strongest terms what it described as the attempted overthrow of constitutional order in Niger and the illegal detention of Mr Bazoum, members of his family and government officials while calling for the president’s immediate release and reinstatement.

It also condemned the illegal detention of the president since Wednesday, calling it a hostage situation. The bloc added that it would not accept any purported resignation from Mr Bazoum.

In the usual style of coups, heads of state are often coerced into resignation.

ECOWAS said that “authors of the attempted coup are solely and fully responsible for the safety and security of President Mohammed Bazoum as well as members of his family and government.”

PT

• Decry Delay Of Interventions, Repair Of Refineries
• Pregnant Mothers Skip Antenatal Care Over High Transport Fare
• CLO: Current Hardship Orchestrated To Punish Nigerians

Exactly two months after President Bola Tinubu removed subsidy on petrol and said the decision would free up money for education, regular power supply, transport infrastructure and healthcare, Nigerians have started lamenting that they are yet to feel any positive impact of the policy.

Among their complaints is that life has rather become more miserable for them. They criticised the president for ‘foisting an anti-people economic policy’ on the country.

Tinubu had during his inaugural speech at the Eagle Square on Monday, May 29, after he was sworn in as Nigeria’s 16th president, stated that the 2023 budget made no provision for fuel subsidy, adding that subsidy payment was no longer justifiable. He promised that his government would instead channel funds into infrastructure and other areas to strengthen the economy.

However, two months after, Nigerians have assessed their lives and concluded that they were far better off two months ago, as it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to attend to their needs and those of their loved ones.

They urged the president to either reverse the policy immediately or fix the nation’s refineries for local refining of petroleum products to bring the pump prices within the reach of the average citizen.

Coordinator of the Arewa Defence League (ADL), Murtala Abubakar, who spoke with The Guardian in Kaduna, said the policy had thrown thousands of families in the northern part of the country into severe hardship.

“A lot of our members who are professionals, artisans, traders, civil servants and businessmen can no longer afford three square meals because of the decision of Tinubu to remove subsidy on fuel at a go.

“It is unfortunate that the government that is supposed to ameliorate the suffering of Nigerians is imposing more hardship on us. Imagine the situation we now find ourselves. Instead of the government to go after those who stole subsidy funds, bring them to book and make them to return the money they stole, the government is leaving them to go away freely and imposing hardship on the citizens.

“In a sane society, the subsidy thieves are supposed to be behind bars by now. But this government is shielding them away from prosecution and from returning the money in their possession, which they stole.

“Go to the streets of Kaduna, there are more beggars. People are also selling their properties for survival. People can no longer afford essential foodstuff because prices have skyrocketed and their income is stagnant,” Abubakar said.

A trader and businessman, Alhamdu China, who operates a barber’s shop in Barnawa area of Kaduna, said the removal of fuel subsidy had affected businesses in the state.

“Even the barber’s shop that we are operating is no longer breaking even because our customers are no longer patronising us. This is because we had to increase our prices as a result of high cost of petrol, which we use to power our generators.

“The government should help us, because we don’t have other means of survival apart from this work we are doing. And we have to feed our children, pay school fees and also cater for our domestic needs. This removal of fuel subsidy has killed businesses, and is even sending many people to their untimely graves.

“Go to the hospital, you will see that the number of sick people have increased. And where is the money to buy drugs and food? The price of everything has increased. The government should help Nigerians and solve these problems of poverty and hunger in the land. They should repair our refineries and make them work to make the price of fuel to come down.”

Amina Mustapha took her 15 months malnourished daughter to the Primary Health Care Centre (PHCC) in Duguri, Alkaleri Council of Bauchi State to get the Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a life-saving essential supply item that treats severe wasting in children under five years, but was told that the food was out of stock. The thought of a fruitless journey overwhelmed her as she was contemplating the next visit. Her community, Yalo, is about 25 kilometres from Duguri and she boarded a truck conveying goods to the area to be able to visit the health facility.

“I will need N1,000 for okada (commercial motorcycle) back home or wait till evening when people will be returning from the market,” she told The Guardian. Her daughter was ostensibly hungry and crying but Amina was helpless. “I will trek because my baby is hungry and I don’t have any money on me to feed her,” she said when asked to attend to the crying baby.

A staff of the clinic, Yahaya Duguri, said most of the patients, particularly pregnant women and nursing mothers, were skipping their antenatal care and immunisation schedules due to high transport fare.

“Their number has reduced compared to what we normally record. Most of them are complaining about the hike in transportation fare. You know most of them are from neighbouring communities. They have to hire a bike,” he said.

The situation is not different at Yelwa Domiciliary PHCC in Bauchi metropolis. One of the auxiliary health care providers, Umar Mohammed, said: “Before, as early as 5:00am you would see so many of them here to pick numbers because of the crowd. Sometimes we attended to more than 300 women. This is about 9:30am and we have less than 150 of them.”

According to him, many of the women lament the high cost of transporting themselves to the clinic. Hanatul Luka was seen at Bayara General Hospital with her antenatal care card arguing with a commercial motorcyclist over the sudden hike in fare.

“Things are really hard. I came here for antenatal with my last N500. I only drank pap this morning. Now, this N500 won’t take me home. This is a distance that I used to spend only N250. How do I come next time for the next antenatal?”, she lamented.

Ruing the situation, Executive Director of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Ibuchukwu Ezike, said it was wrong for anyone to believe that the current hardship in the country is a result of the removal of fuel subsidy.

To him, the increase in the pump price of petrol is not a result of removal of fuel subsidy, because there has never been a subsidy on fuel in the country. He said the current hardship was orchestrated to punish Nigerians.

“CLO does not belong to the school of thought that believes that petroleum products are subsidised for Nigerians since after 1989 when the Ibrahim Babangida junta removed the subsidy on the commodity. The Nigerian students under the umbrella of the radical National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the radical press, Nigeria Medical 

Association (NMA), human rights associations and left organizations then came together to oppose the withdrawal of the subsidy and criminal increase in the pump prices of these products.

“The prices were not increased irrationally, the government introduced some programmes that cushioned the grave effects of subsidy removal from petrol. The protest was tagged anti-Structural Adjustment Programme (Anti- SAP) protest of 1989. Anti-SAP buses were provided for workers, students, professional associations like the NBA, NMA, farmers’ unions and the general public, while there was no increment in school fees, prices of foodstuffs, rents and household goods, but there was increase in salaries of workers. Since that period, there has not been any incident of re-introduction of oil subsidy in Nigeria, rather what we started witnessing was the collapse of oil refineries in the country and the shipping of crude oil out of the shores of Nigeria to be refined in countries where our corrupt and ruthless rulers were said to have built refineries. It was also this time that an independent marketers union was erected to do oil business on behalf of the members of the thieving civilian and military political classes. During this period, the government started paying them for shipping crude oil overseas, and the cost of refining and shipping the products back to Nigeria. This money, known as subsidy, is paid to the marketers and not to the Nigerian people who, thereafter, make returns to our wicked and unconscionable rulers.”

Ezike lamented that the increment in the pump prices of petroleum products had resulted in astronomical hike in the cost of living.

“In fact, everything is adversely affected and the standard of living has gravely fallen. There are increasing cases of social vices like prostitution, armed robbery and joblessness as private employers that can’t cope with payment of staff salaries and allowances and maintenance of offices have downsized their staff strength. The list is inexhaustible,” the CLO official said.

A communications expert, Maxwell Ngene, while commenting on the situation in the country, stated that Nigerians had witnessed unprecedented hardship, noting that, “it has also led to food inflation, devaluation of the naira and low purchasing power.”

According to Ngene, who is a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), the last two months has brought Nigeria and her people to their knees.

“Nigerians are very angry and frustrated about the policy. It has led to the worst economic mess ever witnessed in the country since independence. Unfortunately, it portrays the president as an unprepared, unpatriotic, unresponsive and incompetent leader who does not care about public opinion. Since the removal of fuel subsidy, the country has witnessed unprecedented hardship occasioned by food inflation, devaluation of the naira, poor purchasing power, youth restiveness, intolerable living conditions, unemployment, widespread violence and criminality.

“The more troubling thing about fuel subsidy politics is that critics say that it is a scam orchestrated by the power elite. Those who are indifferent also see it as a policy unlikely to benefit Nigerians in the long run. This group of people thinks that the government will mismanage or steal whatever financial gains would stem from it. There’s not just a trust deficit but also a complete collapse of trust. The people do not trust the leaders. What is even more worrisome is that the extremely poor households are the worst hit in a nation that prides itself as the giant of Africa. The salary of civil servants no longer has meaning. The unemployed school leavers seem to have lost hope in the government and the nation. Most of them are now resorting to doing anything, including engaging in criminal activities just to survive.

“The solution, for me, is to revert to where we were before the removal. Efforts must be made to refurbish our ailing refineries and new ones built. If Aliko Dangote can build a refinery, there is no reason a country like Nigeria cannot do so,” Ngene said.
In an open letter to Tinubu titled, ‘Your Withdrawal of Fuel Subsidy by Fiat was Heartless, Reckless and Ill Informed’, which was made available to The Guardian, yesterday, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Adetokunbo Pearse, said those who believed that the President would run a gregarious administration based on his experience as a former governor of Lagos State for eight years and his much celebrated political sagacity had been proven wrong with the policy.

Pearse berated Tinubu for removing the fuel subsidy “without discussion, without negotiation and without consultation”, adding that “the devastating effects of the subsidy removal is that every aspect of daily life will be impacted adversely due to astronomical increase in cost of living.”

According to him, the President has not only unleashed economic hardship on the people “but you have set the nation into panic mode.” Also, the Lagos State Chapter of the Labour Party (LP), yesterday, lamented the effect of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians, saying the Tinubu administration was clueless on economy management. 

The state chairman of the party, Dayo Ekong, who noted that more people are slipping into abject poverty, bemoaned the level of inflation and devaluation of the currency in just two months Tinubu has stayed in office.

Ekong, in a statement, disclosed that the party was working to help youths and other vulnerable groups acquire requisite skills that would stand them in good stead in the society.

“Lagos State Labour Party, in alliance with our national body, expresses shock over the hike in price of petrol by this insensitive administration of Tinubu/APC. The government takes delight punishing instead of making life easy for the people.
“We sympathise with the masses who bear the heaviest brunt of the obnoxious price hike and assure that the LP Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will bring succour to Nigerians when his mandate is recovered. It is just for a while.”

The Guardian