In the dusk of the last sweltering Saturday, under a nest of affiliates, Samuel, a critic, sidled up to me and said: “Things are improving”. And I replied: ‘’Yes. It was certain that they would.’’
Samuel is not alone in this volte-face and patriotic testimony. Many Nigerians across all artificial lines are affirming the same – the glorious dawn long predicted is nigh.
Performance is the best PR. PR avails not much without the undergirding of substance. PR without the stuff of performance is propaganda. Simply, the tangibles and intangibles of performance are the platter on which the smorgasbord of PR is prepared.
The verdict is unanimous. Nigerians, critics and proponents alike, are all agreed that the economy has turned the corner; that food prices are spiralling downwards; that the naira is strengthening against the dollar, and that there is stability in the supply of petroleum products.
Good governance is like the sweet palm oil of Edo state; it trickles around the fingers when in liaison with roasted yam. Good governance under President Bola Tinubu affects all; its blankets are wide and far-reaching.
Some months ago, President Tinubu promised that the economy would “roar back to glory.” And in truth, today, the roar to life of the economy can be heard in Ogbomoso in Oyo State; in Nkalagu in Ebonyi State, and in Illela in Sokoto State.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.84% (year-on-year) in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2024 – higher than the 3.46% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2024 growth rate (approximately 3.46%).
A front-page report titled, ‘Food prices drop ahead of Ramadan’, by Daily Trust on Wednesday, detailed the significant drop in the price of an array of food items across the country. For instance, in Kaduna, a 100kg bag of maize, which was sold between N70,000 and N75,000, is now N47, 000; while soybeans, which was sold for N110,000, is now N68,000.
Also, the white variety of beans, which was sold for N150,000 is now N100,000.
The report also said in Kano, a “mudu” of maize is now between N1,200 and N1,300; millet, N1,000 and N1,100; beans, between N2,000 and N2,200 per mudu; a tuber of yam, between N2,500 and N4,000 depending on the size, and in Lagos, at Alaba Rago market, Ojo, a bag of rice which used to be sold for between N80,000 and N90,000, now sells for N65,000 and N70,000; while the price of a paint rubber of beans has dropped from N12,000 to N6,500.
In addition, with the full deregulation of the downstream sector, there is now stability in the supply of petroleum products; the hiccups from the capricious fuel subsidy regime removed and the price of petrol which shot above N1,000 per litre last year now oscillating between N860 per litre and N900 per litre.
Also, crude oil production has reached about 1.8m bpd – with a technical potential of 2.24m bpd, according to NUPRC.
There is also stability in the forex market with the scourge of arbitrage removed, and investor confidence returning as affirmed in the Bloomberg report, ‘Has Nigeria Turned a Corner? Investors Think So’.
What is at play is a deft management of the economy by trained hands and prepared leadership.
The evidence of the Tinubu administration’s nearly two years of quarry is palpable and bold. That is the tangibility of performance. It is clear to all. No frills, no thrills.
In an essay years ago, ‘Food security and the anatomy of hunger’, I wrote that we as a people must appreciate the power of hunger to deal delicately with matters of food security. Food security is national security. In policymaking, addressing hunger is pivotal because “foodology” is at the nucleus of existence. Hunger is a mad man. It is within this context that the federal government’s expeditious efforts at stabilising the economy and bringing down food prices are situated and deserving of the mass commendation it is receiving.
Fredrick Nwabufo is Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement
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