The 34th President of the United States of America, Dwight David Eisenhower once said, “Governments are far more stupid than their people”. Those in leadership positions are not always infallible and should not always arrogate to themselves monopoly of knowledge over those they superintend. How else do we explain the remarks of the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, that food inflation is reducing and the government will sustain it?
He disclosed this recently at the National Economic Dialogue with the theme ‘Nigeria’s Economic Future: 25 Years of Democracy and Beyond’, organized by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) in Abuja.
It is very curious that the Minister’s comments came less than two weeks after the climax of the 10 days, August 1-10 ‘End Bad Governance and Hunger Protests’ across the country. What policy has the Federal Government enunciated before or since the end of the ‘End Bad Governance and Hunger Protests’ that warranted reduction in food inflation that it plans to sustain?
Have the prices of food items like rice, beans, garri, tomatoes, pepper, and yam, among others dropped to the pre-Tinubu years? If my state is anything to go by, after the ’10 days of rage’ protests, prices of foodstuff have further skyrocketed. The further hike in prices of foodstuff is partly because the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol, has further skyrocketed from less than N800 before the protests to N900 and above, depending on where petrol is sold.
Why do our leaders in public offices find it difficult to differentiate facts from fiction? Why do they often alienate themselves from the people in terms of reality? The story is told of Field Marshal Idi Amin of Uganda who wanted to change the name of his country, Uganda to his name, Idi. Everybody, for fear of the unknown, agreed with the brutal dictator, but one man, Mr. Maliamungu, who was close to him, as Mr. Edun is close to President Tinubu. Mr. Maliamungu said: ‘Your Excellency, Sir, do you know Cyprus’? Surprised at the question, Idi Amin asked, ‘what has Cyprus got to do with my decision to change Uganda to Idi’? Maliamungu said: ‘the people of Cyprus are called Cypriots. So, if you change Uganda to Idi’, we will be called Idiots!, including your good self, Sir. So, please let’s maintain our name’. Responding, Idi Amin said: ‘aah…Maliamungu!, you are very intelligent. In fact, more intelligent than everyone in Uganda, except me’. The story teaches us that, for the general good, we should always speak truth to power, when we are in position to do so, especially if our lives are not in danger.
At the NESG, the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun ‘assured Nigerians of availability and affordable food prices’. Availability? Yes! Affordable? No! The current slight reduction in the prices of some food items is because of the harvest season and not directly related to any policy of the Federal Government. Let us use yam as an example. Before the ‘subsidy is gone’ mantra by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the average price of a fairly big size tuber of yam was between N2000 and N3000. However, between January and July this year, the same sold for N10,000 upwards. Now, because of the harvest, it sells for about N6000. Is this the kind of reduction that Mr. Edun is bragging about on behalf of the Federal Government?
Mr. Edun could have done better for the Federal Government if he had said that because of the six months temporary import duty waiver given for the importation of some food items like rice, sorghum, millet, corn, wheat and beans by the Federal Government, the food items would soon arrive Nigeria and that would probably reduce cost of the foodstuffs. The waiver actually ends on December 3, 2024. Mr. Wale Edun could have used the opportunity to assure Nigerians that many murderous herdsmen and bandits who have killed thousands of farmers across the country, especially in Northern Nigeria have been eliminated or curtailed. He could have assured farmers of their safety and the need to return to their villages and commence farming.
Truth be told, the problem of astronomical rise in the prices of foodstuffs is not only because of the hike in the prices of petroleum products but because thousands of farmers have been slaughtered by herdsmen. The fear of herdsmen has made many farmers leave their ancestral homes and relocated to other communities and Internally Displaced Persons camps.
The long-term solution to the food inflation in Nigeria is the elimination of criminals who either prevent farmers from farming or use their cattle to destroy the produce of farmers. The seeming intractable problem of bandits and criminal herdsmen predates the President Tinubu administration. But we know that every government inherits the assets and liabilities of its predecessor. Therefore, no excuse is needed from President Tinubu. He must proffer solutions to the problem of hunger ravaging the country. Nigeria is not at war or experiencing natural disasters to warrant hunger. Also, the Federal Government must have the political will to demand accountability from State Governors who collect monthly Security Votes. If security votes are judiciously used, a reasonable amount given to local hunters and vigilantes with modern gadgets to fight crime, it would be very difficult for bandits and herdsmen to succeed in their nefarious activities.
Apart from the false narrative of lower inflation by Mr. Edun, what was his epistle about ‘Nigeria’s Economic Future: 25 Years of Democracy and Beyond’? Booth Tarkington said: “The only good in pretending is the fun we get out of fooling ourselves that we fool somebody”. Did Mr. Wale Edun tell his audience that given our present trajectory of profligacy, corruption, preference for the importation of petroleum products instead of refining our crude oil, among other economic malaises bedeviling us, Nigeria’s economic future looks forlorn? Did the Finance Minister have the guts to explain to his audience that Nigeria’s 25 Years of Democracy, 1999-2024 have brought to most Nigerians hardship, agony, misery, pain, insecurity, while a few political elites have been living extravagantly from funds stolen from our collective patrimony? Did Mr. Edun reecho the old and worn out cliche of ‘patience’ by Nigeria’s oppressors to the masses, reminding us that Rome, the Italian capital, was not built in a day? But we know it was not built forever.
Uwadia, a columnist and administrator, writes from Benin City
