It feels like yesterday when the current president of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn in as the 16th president of Nigeria, but it has been 365 days and today marks this event. His ascension into power occurred after long, rigorous campaigns and election. His major contenders: Alh Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi were forced to accept his political position after a long tribunal case.
Though it has been a year since Tinubu became president of Nigeria, Nigeria has faced various levels of development and setbacks. His renewed hope 8-point agenda encapsulates his promises and policies for the people. Let us look at some of his policies since he became the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic.
The 8-point Renewed Hope Agenda
- Reforming the economy for inclusive growth
- Strengthening national security
- Boosting Agriculture for food security
- Unlocking energy and natural resources
- Enhancing infrastructure and transportation
- Focusing on education, health, and social investment
- Accelerating diversification through industrialisation, digitisation, creative arts, manufacturing, and innovation
- Improving governance for effective service delivery
On assumption into office, Tinubu’s first policy was removal of fuel subsidy. This caused a great upheaval in the country as fuel queues and fuel prices increased. The ensuing effect was increase in food and transportation prices which affected the people immensely. The floating of the naira and unification of the Forex market affected businesses and price of commodities as there was a massive increase in cost of production, importation, and goods. As the economic rebirth policy continues, the common man hopes it eventually favours them.
In the field of Agriculture, he launched initiatives like the Dry Season Farming Initiative and the Green Imperative Programme to promote year-round farming and provide farmers with access to modern equipment and low interest loans. The dry season farming initiative was launched in Hadeija, Jigawa state in November 2023. According to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, “the dry season farming is an integral part of the national Agricultural Growth Scheme and AgroPocket (NAGS-AP) Project, made possible by a $134 million loan facility advanced to Nigeria by the African Development Bank (AfDB)”.
These initiatives should ensure adequate farm practices and food supply however, food prices continue to increase and food insecurity glares at us. There are reports of herdsmen clashes with farmers in various parts of Nigeria which continues to affect food availability and supply.
In the field of education, the president signed into law the Student Loans Act to help students gain access to loans to cover the increased tuition. The requirements to access the loans initially struck Nigerians as being inaccessible, but it was reviewed and hopefully students will have access to funding for their education through this platform. Social welfare schemes including cash transfers and other credit programmes to help families and businesses were also initiated by the president.
National security still remains a tough nut to crack as there continues reports of banditry, kidnapping, raiding and terrorism in the northeast and other parts of Nigeria. There needs to be increased efforts by the government and security agencies to address this challenge.
In the area of infrastructure, there have been promises for increased investments and activities. The Abuja-Kaduna light rail would begin commercial activities; the Port Harcourt-Aba rail line shall begin operation; and the Lagos-Calabar Superhighway is in its development stage.
A major achievement of the administration is the youth driven industrialization, digitization, and innovation through launched initiatives like the Three Million Technical Talent Initiative and the iDICE programme to empower young Nigerians with digital skills. Many Nigerians have begun to enjoy the scholarships and digital training from this initiative.
One of the 8-Points Renewed Hope Agenda was improved governance for effective service delivery. With the appointments of new heads of MDAs and reshuffling of governing council for institutions, ministries, and other point of economic and security details, we await the impact of the president’s decision and policy for the country. The introduction of the MOBILIZER app for citizen engagement and the Citizen’s Delivery Tracker App shows Tinubu’s interest in assessing public official’s performance through public opinions. The Oronsaye Report which recommends reforms to the government aims to restructure government agencies. This move is also a welcome development by the government.
President Tinubu assumed office during a period of challenges, economic turmoil, widespread poverty, unemployment, and insecurity. His election into power held mixed feelings for the already disillusioned citizens. His policies and strategies were met with little resistance, although criticisms abounds. The president’s resoluteness and commitment to ensure development is commendable, but the economic hardship to citizens still permeates. As President Bola Tinubu’s tenure in office continues, we observe and analyse what other policies and practices he has in store for the country.
