Nigerians Angry With Govt Officials Over Cost Of Living – Shettima

Nigerians Angry With Govt Officials Over Cost Of Living – Shettima

Amidst the widespread economic challenges faced by many Nigerians due to escalating living costs driven by unprecedented inflation, Vice-President Kashim Shettima acknowledged the discontent among the impoverished citizens towards government officials and the elite, who represent the minority.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 16 participants from various security agencies and state government nominees in Abuja, organized by the National Institute for Security Studies, the Vice-President’s remarks marked a notable admission by a senior government official regarding the prevailing hardship. The situation has intensified since President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023.

In his inaugural address, President Tinubu announced the permanent removal of petrol subsidies, triggering a swift surge in the pump price from N238-N263 per litre to a minimum of N500, with current prices ranging between N580 and N615.

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As Nigerians grappled with this new reality and the subsequent spikes in the costs of goods, services, and transport fares, the Federal Government announced the decision to allow the naira’s exchange rate to major international currencies to fluctuate based on demand and supply. This move promptly led to a significant depreciation of the local currency, reaching N465.07 against the United States dollar just weeks before Tinubu’s inauguration. The scarcity of dollars and other major international currencies propelled the naira to soar to over 1,000 against the greenback.

Recently, the naira plummeted to an unprecedented low of N1,099.05/$ at the official Investor and Exporter forex window, culminating a turbulent period for the national currency. This represented a 30.36% decline from its previous closing rate of N843.07/$, as reported by data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange. Since June, the naira has witnessed a loss exceeding 40% of its value, further contributing to inflationary pressures across the country.

Shettima, however, said on Saturday, “All of us here belong to a tiny segment of the Nigerian population. And you don’t need a soothsayer to tell you that the poor are angry with us. Go to the slums and mingle with the poor. I am a native of Maiduguri (Borno State Capital). Anytime a rich man brought a new car to his house, it (the house) used to be a place of pilgrimage.

“People (used to) go and see not out of anger, but out of admiration. But now, as we cruise around in our bulletproof cars, one will see contempt in the eyes of the poor. We have to improve the quality of governance. And what we have is a tiny window of not more than 10 to 20 years. Let’s improve the quality of governance.”

He also noted that creating jobs and giving hope to the populace would help curb insecurity in the country.

The VP added, “Let’s create jobs; let’s give hope to the populace. And once we create jobs, all this madness of insecurity will disappear. There won’t be Boko Haram and banditry if this is done, especially for us from the North. We can blame the bandits, but we in leadership positions owe it to posterity to address this.

“They (the poor) are the most neglected segment of our society. You can hardly differentiate between them and their animals. Even the animals they rear belong to those in the city. So, there have to be kinetic and non-kinetic solutions to all the problems. Be it the IPOB agitation in the South-East; be it the challenges in the South-South; be it Boko Haram or rural banditry in the North-East, North-West, and North-Central.”

He, however, urged the citizens to be patient with the President and support his efforts to reposition the country.

“I want to ask you to give the President the benefit of the doubt. Let us support you. Let us rally around and be reassured that he is determined to redefine the meaning and concept of modern leadership, and is ever ready to reposition the Nigerian nation. But without the support of you and I, he can’t do much,” the VP said.

He berated those seeking to secede from the country, noting that they “hardly think beyond their noses.”

Shettima said, “It’s easy to predict failure. But what about success, what is the end result of failure? It is destruction. Just two million Syrians knocking on the doors of Europe, and they caused Brexit. They caused the emergence of Trump in America. So, how do you proceed? Those people who are agitating for the breakup of this nation, or the implosion of this country, they hardly think beyond their noses.

“They don’t think beyond the depth of their pockets. Surviving their way on the growth of the innocent and the agonies of our people will not do us any good. “