The national broadcast on the current economic challenges in the country by President Bola Tinubu has triggered reactions from netizens who picked holes on his speech.
Netizens described the speech as rhetorics and unhelpful.
They wondered why the issue of fixing the refineries and names of the few ‘elites of the elites’ who stole the commonwealth over these ages were not mentioned, saying to the extent these are missing in the broadcast, the president’s intention is suspect.
They seek clarification on the ‘era’ referred to as ‘darkness’ by President Tinubu..
They said paragraph 3 of the broadast is lacking in truth.
They pointed out that the broadcast failed to address many key issues, including the humongous and rising cost of governance and local PMS production by Dangote refinery in July.
In some comment threads to post on Whatsapp,~ Johnnie wrote, ” As far a I am concerned, all these are cock and bull stories”.
~ Khalifa, ” You are on point here, we should not be carried away by rhetorics”.
Samuel Adaji Eded, ”There’s no rhetorics here. He has given detailed plans of action back with figures of expenditure. No other president could have done better”.
Hon. Obun, ”I wonder how the people that support this government sleep in the night with the level of hardship”.
Stephen Agochi, ”We have heard all these in the past. Walk the talk. Like Adams Oshiomole.said recently in a Channels Television interview, there is no reason why this government cannot at least start implementing palliative to public sector workers. At least the number in known. If they are already making savings they should hit the ground running. These speeches that are couched in future tenses are unhelpful”.
Eze Gabriel Enyi, ” Why the willful omission of the fixing of the refineries? Any hidden agenda? Do we not need to know the few ” elite of the elites” who stole our commonwealth over these ages? To the extent that these are missing, the president’s intentions are suspect. If you can go after the Emefeiles and bawas why not the so-called oil thieves. If Tinubu means well, he should first fix the refineries and publish and prosecute the” elite of the elites” who stole from the illicit subsidy arrangement and drastically reduce the bureaucracies at the three tiers of government in this nation.”
~Temple, ”But how can he do all that when he is same. Just can’t get where pot is calling kettle black . Nawao, na juju they take dey do us that Tinubu is probing people? God have mercy oo!.
Bashorun OAdegbulugbe wrote, ”The “After darkness comes the glorious dawn” speech of July 31, 2023. As a patriotic citizen, I waited anxiously for the delivery of the national broadcast by President Bola Tinubu.Hours before the broadcast, I spent time to think about what the President will tell us and will the speech bring down the rising temperature and pressure amongst the citizens of Nigeria.I listened to the broadcast and have read the text twice. It is my pleasure to share with fellow Nigerians my take on the “After darkness …” speech. The speech may have come 62 days late but it is better late than never. A responsive and responsible leader would have addressed the nation before embarking on such a transformative change of pms subsidy withdrawal and forex rate unification, as part of stakeholder engagement. But we understand that our president is learning on the job. The speech or broadcast was titled “After darkness comes the glorious dawn”.We seek clarity on the era referred to as “darkness”. Is the period of darkness reference in the speech – the Buhari led APC government of which Bola Tinubu was part of as the ruling party national leader. A more appropriate title would have been “After pain comes gain”. . In paragraph 3, President Tinubu said that “ For several years, I have consistently maintained the position that the fuel subsidy had to go. In a speech delivered by Bola Tinubu On 11 January 2012, Tinubu accused President Jonathan of “betraying social contract with the people by suddenly removing fuel subsidy.Therefore paragraph 3 of the broadcast today is lacking in truth. However, we welcome the President’s current position on fuel subsidy for it is the right decision. Unfortunately, the implementation was horrific. In paragraphs 4, 5 and 10, President Tinubu talked extensively about a small group that have amassed so much wealth from PMS subsidy and stated that this group have become a serious threat to our economy. My question is that are the members of this small group “ghosts” or “foreign aliens”from space. Do they not have an identity. Who awarded them the contracts and approved payments to this tiny group of unknown identities. How can we exonerate NNPC, the custodian and executioner of PMS imports, subsidy payments and DSDP. OR is this an open indictment of NNPC by the President’? If yes, it is a welcome development but the President as C-i-C should be bold to take the bull by the horn and mention names or order an investigation, in the interest of justice, fairness and transparency. Several paragraphs were devoted to plans by Government to boost and inflate the economy as well as the promise of minimum wage review?. Unfortunately, the broadcast failed to address the following key issues.How does Government intend to address inflation and improve the purchasing power of ordinary Nigerians. The issue is not about wage increase but increasing the purchasing power of ordinary Nigerians through reduction in the prices of goods and service, transportation inclusive. President Tinubu did not address the issue of humongous and rising cost of Governance in his speech. If Nigeria cannot afford fuel subsidy for the poor and vulnerable, Nigeria, certainly, cannot afford to foot the bills of extravagant lifestyle of our politicians. It amounts to hypocrisy and insincerity on the part of Government if an immediate 50% reduction in the salaries and allowances of all public office holders is not implemented now that pms subsidy is gone. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. I believe that one of the needed pms palliatives is the local production of pms in Nigeria. The president was totally silent about the failed promise of Local pms production by Dangote refinery in July. Mr President failed to apologize to Nigerians for putting the cart before the horse on this issue of pms subsidy termination and also failed to acknowledge a lack of clear understanding of the economic, social and societal impacts of pms subsidy removal”.
Martins Madufor, “Bola Ahmed Tinubu & his address to the Nation .The 15 minutes pillow talk this evening by Sen Bola Ahmed Tinubu was nothing but a belated response to Mr Peter Obi’s Parallel Facts Leadership and Governance Symposium to the Nigeria nation & the World”.
Chief Dr. Emmanuel, ‘ Just for the benefit of doubt and without prejudice to the expected validation of the real winner of February 25, 2023 election, t want to ask is Nigeria unde any demonic oath not to fix the refineries? How else can one establish that the oil sector is a critical driver of every other sector in Nigeria?
~Decency, ”Maybe, they have the mind of selling the refineries to their proxies hence no mention was made of them in his speech”.
~Aboki, ” Better to sell it than be servicing it with billions yearly yet it doesn’t produce”.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has condemned the speech.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, the party called on Nigerians not to despair over the new challenges presented by the speech.
The statement read, ”Yesterday evening, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) dashed the hope of Nigerians, and especially his now disillusioned supporters with his staged address in feeble defence of his badly planned and hurriedly-executed polices that have worsened economic hardship and uncertainty across the country in the last two months.
”The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) berates the recourse to such vacuous, illusory and showy mal-administration which further revealed lack of leadership ingenuity and focus in the management of the affairs of the nation.
”The PDP is appalled that the address is another litany of false promises hurriedly put together by his handlers in the desperate bid to hoodwink and beguile Nigerians, blackmail Labour Fronts and divert public attention from the life-discounting experiences imposed by the APC government.
”Such antics and play on the psychology of Nigerians with propaganda and empty promises are consistent with the deceptive trajectory of the APC since its emergence in 2014.
”The PDP holds that Senator Tinubu’s speech is a horrifying reminder of APC’s bogus promises under him as National Leader in 2015 which include promised Three million jobs per year; Making Naira equal in value to the US Dollar; Provision of Small Business Loan Guarantee Scheme to create at least 5 million new jobs by 2019; Provision of allowances to discharged but unemployed Youth Corps members for twelve (12) months; Creation of a Social Welfare Programme of at least N5,000 for 25 million poorest and most vulnerable citizens; Establishment of N300 billion Regional Growth Fund (average of N50bn in each Geo-Political region); Imaginary improvement in our agricultural produce with phantom pyramid of rice which turned out to be “pyramid of lies” among other myriads of counterfeit promises.
”Nigerians are aware that the APC, with Senator Tinubu as National Leader, never fulfilled any of these promises, but rather remained unaccountable and turned our once prosperous nation to the poverty capital of the world where over 100 million citizens cannot afford their daily meals and other basic necessities of life.
”What then is the value of Senator Tinubu’s new promises of N75 billion for new jobs in 2024; N125 billion to SMEs; N50,000 each to 1,300 nano business and cultivation of 750,000 hectares of land for food, all without concrete policy and implementation plan, and which at best are openings for corrupt patronage and siphoning of public funds?
”We invite Nigerians to note that a comprehensive review of the speech shows that it is merely aspirational, meant only to mesmerize the citizens as it is completely bereft of any concrete plans to tackle the energy crisis, production issues, monetary challenges and worsening insecurity in our country.
”It is instructive to observe from the speech, that the APC has no marshal plan to stimulate domestic crude refining as an answer to the crippling energy and manufacturing deficits in the country, instead the APC has committed our nation to the mercies of foreign interests and market forces.
”The submission in the speech that there are no other ways but for Nigerians to suffer hardship and high costs further exposes APCs scandalous cluelessness, lack of capacity and deficiency of innovative ideas to effectively steady and manage a nation like Nigeria.
”It also shows APC’s insensitivity to the suffering of Nigerians and lackadaisical approach to serious issues of governance. It is like the case of you take it or leave it! The APC should know that there is frustration in the society in the face of its apparent lack of ideas and leadership focus.
”Even with the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, the PDP restates that with a deft, transparent and innovative management of resources, economic potentials, national comparative advantage and expanded value chain in refining capacity, fuel should not sell for more than N150 per liter in the Country.
”It is therefore preposterous and a mockery of leadership that instead of stimulating domestic production of CNG-fueled and alternative transportation system, the APC is planning to spend a whooping N100 billion to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater buses for over 120 million Nigerians who rely on public transportation.
”This will amount to 3 units of 20-seater buses for an average 100,000 public transport commuters in each of the 774 Local Government Areas across the Country. This shows that the APC is completely disconnected from reality and lacks the capacity to manage a country as complex as Nigeria.
”It is pertinent to observe that the speech had no provision for riverine and coastal transportation as well as haulage which in itself is the mainstay and driver of Nigeria’s trade, commerce, agriculture and industrial sectors.
”Moreover, it is heartrending that Senator Tinubu’s speech had no words of assurance on security which is the primary duty of government. There are no words for victims of escalated mindless killings, abduction and marauding in various parts of the country especially in the last two months. This shows an unpardonable disconnection and lack of empathy to the plight of Nigerians.
”It is worrisome that the speech had rather worsened the situation in the country with further fall in the value of the naira today and more investors losing confidence in our economy given the insincere posture, lack of direction and uncertainties created by the address.
”In any case, the PDP charges Nigerians not to despair over the new challenges presented by the speech but to remain calm and continue to support one another at this perilous time while hoping in the judiciary to restore their mandate for the enthronement of a purposeful, people-oriented and effective administration that will work ONLY for the interest of the people”.