President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is facing a serious battle to revive the ailing economy. And he is opposed to how a few rich people control the resources meant for many. This group of people are powerful, influential and ready to sabotage government policies In other for them to remain in their usual business.
But the current government has warned that it’s not going to be business as usual. At the recent launch of the Redline in Lagos, Pres. Tinubu revealed how corruption is fighting back and how Fuel Subsidy beneficiaries are also battling him. He told them point blank that he would wrestle them to the ground and defeat them.
This rich and powerful people are those who have made stupendous money from foreign exchange and fuel subsidy deals.
Since the first day of President Tinubu in office, he has been churning out one policy or the other in other to revive the bad economy he inherited from the past government and has also embarked on a total reformation of Nigeria to be very effective. We have seen some key CBN departments moving to Lagos. FAAN has also moved its headquarters back to Lagos.
A few weeks back, the Vice President Kashim Shettima, lamented that some unscrupulous elements are hell bent on tarnishing the image of the country. They are also working to sabotage all their efforts. He said there are some few Nigerians who are desperate to make them look stupid. The VP pointed accusing fingers at smugglers and politicians as brains behind the attempt to pull the nation backward. The VP disclosed that 45 trucks loaded with maize were intercepted while making their way to neighbouring countries some weeks back.
According to him, “Just three nights ago, 45 trucks of maize were caught being transported to neighboring countries. Just in that Ilela axis, there are 32 illegal smuggling routes. And the moment those foodstuffs were intercepted, the price of maize came down by N10,000. It came down from N60,000 to N50,000. “So, there are forces that are hell-bent on undermining our nation, but this is the time for us to coalesce into a singular entity.
“We have to make this country work. We have to move beyond politics. We are now in the face of governance.
“Forces are hell-bent on plunging this country into a state of anarchy. Those who could not get to power through the ballot box, instead for them to wait till 2027, are so desperate.” he lamented.
The Tinubu administration has warned those who are ready to listen that, it’s not going to be business as usual. The president means business and the reform is beginning to hit more and more Nigerians. For the first time, some set of powerful people are beginning to revolt against the government. Especially some traditional leaders from the North.
A few weeks back, Aminu Ado Bayero, Emir of Kano, told Oluremi Tinubu, the First Lady, to tell President Bola Tinubu that the hardship in the country has reached alarming proportions. He said the first lady is best placed to relate her findings about the hunger, insecurity and concerns of the people to the president.
“Although we have several means of communicating to the government on our needs and requests, your way and means are the surest way to tell the president the actual happenings in the country,” he said.
“The hunger and starvation, though didn’t start with this government, but the situation has become more alarming and needs urgent attention. “The issue of insecurity is another serious problem we are facing. I know your government inherited it, but something more seriously should be done to address the situation.” He also raised concerns over the relocation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) offices to Lagos, adding that Nigerians need to know the reasons behind the decision.
Another set of people who don’t want this government to succeed are currency Speculators. This set of people don’t want the Naira to gain value for reason best known to them. But the Nigeria’s federal government has warned, fumed that ongoing policy initiatives to sanitise the monetary system was facing fierce resistance from saboteurs, speculators and other unscrupulous players within and outside the country, whom he alleged were reaping from dysfunction and opacity.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammad Idris, made the allegation on the fierce resistance the monetary system was facing in a statement.
Also, a few weeks back, the Special Adviser on Economic Affairs in the office of the Vice President, Tope Fasua, reaffirmed that while the current policies of the government may have brought about hardship, they would ultimately pave way for future growth.
Idris stressed that relevant regulatory and security agencies had been placed on the red alert to ensure that malpractices capable of undermining the Naira were averted and that those engaged in such acts were brought to book, adding that the federal government would not allow its efforts to be jeopardised.
Sadly, as with any effort to reform and sanitise a system entrenched in long-term malpractice, the CBN’s efforts have been met with ferocious resistance from speculators and other unscrupulous players within and outside our country, who profit from dysfunction and opacity.
“To tackle this, regulatory and enforcement agencies of the government have been working round the clock in the past few days, joining forces to address these efforts at undermining the reforms. That strategic alliance has led to the intelligence-led identification, investigation and sanctioning of individuals and organisations involved in illegal activities and sabotage within the forex market.
A few days ago the federal government arrested and detained two binance executives for sabotaging of naira.
The arrest came amidst efforts by the government to rein in speculation on the naira by cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Recently, the government through the Nigerian Communications Commission blocked the online platforms of Binance and other crypto firms to avert what it considers continuous manipulation of the forex market and illicit movement of funds. It also sent operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to arrest Bureau De Change operators at the Popular Wuse Zone 4 in Abuja. The Nigerian government see some of these people has saboteurs and they are ready to go toe to toe with them. Even in power sector which has become a big issue in Nigeria especially in the last few months, it’s been rumoured that some Nigerians who are called cabal don’t want power sector to function the way it should. A few days ago, Abia state commissioned a power plant that will provide 24 hours electricity to the people of Abia. A lot have been said since the commission of the project. Barth Nnaji painted how desperate these cabal are and they are ready to go any length to sabotage the power sector. According to Barth Nnaji, a former Minister of power in Nigeria, said that diesel suppliers and generator dealers are sabotaging efforts for Nigerians to enjoy regular power supply.
Nnaji made this known while featuring on a radio programme, captioned: “The South East Political Roundtable” by Flo FM, Umuahia on Wednesday. Nnaji said that the endless breakdown of the national grid had remained a significant concern among Nigerians. According to him, this is despite the Federal Government’s claim of spending N7 trillion as direct interventions in the power sector, even after privatising the electricity generation and distribution arms of the industry since November 2013.
Nnaji, who is the Group Chairman of Geometric Power, Aba, identified diesel suppliers and generator sellers as other obstacles for those who are into power generation business. He said that the sector needed professionals, who understood the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry to manage it. There are two areas when you talk of cabal in the sector – the diesel suppliers and generator users. “Nigeria is a big user of generator because of our enormous power need and those who are in the business would not want any interruption. “The diesel suppliers feel that stable power supply would destroy their business,” he said. Nnaji further alleged that the power sector, just like others, had some cabal, who make gains from the problems of poor power supply. A graphic picture of how dangerous the diesel suppliers can be was experienced when we were in government, somewhere in this country, some men cut down 30KVA line to stop electricity supply to thousands of users,” Nnaji said.
There are people who also feel that the Nigerian Labour Congress is working for the Labour Party and its Presidential candidate and all their actions are in favour of the party. The government has assured them of saboteurs for treating them to go on strike while the control is battling with severe hardship.
Joe Ajaero, the NLC President, said the NLC, as the founder of the Labour Party (LP), will continue to enjoin its members to champion the cause of the party and participate in partisan politics.
“We have an era that we are entering: era of politics, and we will not shy away. The Nigeria Labour Congress will be involved in politics. We are already involved in politics; NLC had a political party: the Labour Party (LP), and LP participated in the recent elections,” NAN quoted Ajaero as saying.
Many people who lost during the last elections feel it should be do or die and it is better the government fail to prove a point.
–ISAAC ABIMBADE
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