When President Bola Tinubu assumed the leadership of Nigeria on May 29, 2023, he didn’t mince words in stating his economic and security objectives for the country.
In his inaugural speech, President Tinubu out rightly declared that ‘fuel subsidy is gone!’ Many didn’t take the declaration serious because fuel subsidy had hitherto been the exclusive reserve of perceived powerful members of the society, who used it as a conduit pipe through which they syphoned the money meant for the payment of subsidy, amounting to trillions of naira.
Though this group of people were untouchable, the President dared the lion’s tail by declaring an end to their selfish agenda thus, liberating the nation’s economy from the shackles of these perceived untouchable big wigs.
He quickly followed that with the introduction of bold and ambitious economic reforms, including foreign exchange unification, tax reforms, financial autonomy to the third tier of government also known as the local governments and aggressive non-oil revenue generation among others, all with the aim of resetting the country’s economy.
These reforms had since started yielding the desired results as can be seen in a major boost in revenue generation, with the three tiers of government now having more funds at their disposal for developmental purposes, increased confidence in the economy by both foreign and domestic investors showing their willingness to do business in Nigeria, students getting loans to pay for their study expenses, as well as the appreciation of the country’s currency, the naira in the foreign exchange market.
In the security sector, President Tinubu stated from his first day in office that terrorism would be a thing of the past. He immediately matched his words with action, by ensuring that the nation’s Armed Forces get enough funding, as well as platforms for the fight against terrorists and bandits.
Beyond funding, the Tinubu administration had since approved a harmonised salary increase for the nation’s Armed Forces and other security personnel.
The administration also gave approval for annual recruitment in the security sector, to guarantee enough manpower as the nation fights hard to address security challenges.
Little wonder, world super power, the United States wasted no time in granting support to Nigeria in its bid to scuttle terrorism and ensure safety of lives and property of citizens in all parts of Nigeria.
With this strong collaboration between Nigeria and the US, the country is reclaiming its lost grounds and gradually winning the fight against terrorism.
A lot has been achieved by President Tinubu in his first three years in office and it is expected that Nigeria will continue to soar in the economic, security and other fronts due to the political will exhibited by the Nigerian leader to tackle the challenges confronting the nation.
All that the citizens need to do is to rally round their leader, to ensure he succeeds in his quest to better their lot.