Smell The Coffee!! Symptoms Of Revolt Loom Large In The Horizon, Group Tells Tinubu

Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, National Coordinator of CNG, issued the warning at a media briefing on Friday, saying “symptoms of revolt loom large in the horizon.

Charanchi stated today that life has become extremely difficult for the vast majority of citizens, adding, “The suffering of Nigerians is palpable across every stratum.

“The CNG holds the current and previous governments accountable for causing this dire situation for Nigerians.”

“The current situation, Mr. President, the CNG feels duty bound to draw your esteemed attention to the alarming danger in the immediate horizon, as evidenced by dark clouds of impending massive citizen revolt against the government.”

“Mr. President, cosmetic measures are rarely sufficient to quell the people’s rage, especially when they are confronted with economic hardships, massive hunger, and rampant poverty, while the political class and their cohorts live a life of scandalous opulence and open ostentation.”

The Coalition of Northern Groups has stated that Tinubu’s Economic Team is the worst since Nigeria’s civil war began in 1999.

Charanchi claimed that President Tinubu’s economic team lacks coordination, focus, foresight, and a thorough understanding of the Nigerian economy.

“The government’s anti-people policies have only allowed a few elites to acquire wealth, while the vast majority of citizens remain impoverished.”

He lamented that in responding to the current hardship facing Nigerians, Tinubu’s government “appears to be adopting a trial-and-error approach to the economy, resulting in further deterioration and exposing people to avoidable hardship.”

According to Charanchi, “The CNG has critically reviewed the current situation in Nigeria and strongly cautions against the nation’s impending precipitous collapse.”

“We are deeply concerned about the overall economic climate, which portends impending disaster. As a result, it is critical to address the escalating hardship that has affected every aspect of Nigerian society.

“Current economic indices and data from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) paint an ugly picture of our reality, as they confirm that 133 million Nigerians are already living in multidimensional poverty, while 20 million people, mostly young people of productive age, are either completely unemployed or underemployed.”

“People are increasingly disillusioned with the government’s economic policies and institutions. This poses a serious threat to our beloved country.

“The CNG has noted that inflation has had disastrous and traumatic economic consequences.

“It has resulted in significant investment losses, business disruption, increased poverty, and unemployment.

“This is in addition to the social consequences of insecurity, which include community displacement, loss of life and property, and psychological trauma.”

“It is no longer news that widespread hardship throughout the country has eroded trust in the current government, posing an exponential threat to national unity, peace, and security.

“It is also concerning that Nigeria’s overall inflation has risen to 34.19% from 22.41%, a steep 52.6% increase, while food inflation has risen from 24.82% to 40.66%, a 64% increase in a year—the highest recorded in decades.”

Despite no increase in electricity generation or transmission equipment renewal, electricity tariffs for band A have increased by over 200%, averaging 71.59 to 225, with no corresponding increase in power supply and distribution.

“In the last six months, we have already experienced multiple national power grid collapses, the most recent of which occurred on Saturday, July 6, 2024. This is detrimental to our progress and industrialization efforts.

The ill-conceived floating of the naira has resulted in its depreciation from ₦463 to a dollar to ₦1,573, a 240% drop.

“This has resulted in a significant drop in the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from 53.2 to 52.1 points, indicating an unhealthy trend in the private sector.

“Empirical data from the NBS and others show that key economic indices have worsened over the last year, with no definitive and evidence-based solutions in sight.

“In this dire situation, instead of providing relief, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announced an interest rate hike, which will further devastate the economy and reduce job creation prospects.

“The outcome of the MPC economic policies demonstrates that President Tinubu’s economic team is the worst since Nigeria’s return to civil rule in 1999.”

“To exacerbate the situation, the government raised interest rates from 18.5% to around 30%, a 62% increase.

“Experts warned that raising interest rates at this time will cause the economy to stagnate and lead to job losses.

“The CNG shares stakeholders’ concerns that higher interest rates will not only reduce investments and economic growth, but will also exacerbate the daunting challenges by inundating the business environment, resulting in factory closures, job losses, and reduced economic activity.

“The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) reports that, within two months, over 16 multinational corporations relocated from Nigeria to neighbouring countries, over 300 local manufacturing companies were closed, and over 380,000 jobs were lost, forcing Nigerians to return to the labour market in search of non-existent job opportunities.”

As a result, the CNG urged Tinubu to reconsider his economic advisers and tax regime committees, whose misguided advice has resulted in policies that prioritise personal interests over national well-being, perpetuating poverty, unemployment, inequality, and insecurity.

“These advisers have shown a lack of understanding of our economic realities, perpetuating harmful policies that are detrimental to the country and squandering the president’s political capital.

“We urge President Tinubu to remove these advisers from his administration because their incompetence is crippling the country’s economy.

The removal of fuel subsidies has resulted in a 195% increase in petrol prices, from ₦238 to ₦701 per litre, hindering the mobility of people and goods throughout the country.

“Despite Nigeria increasing its crude oil production from 1.18 mbpd to 1.28 mbpd and receiving favourable oil prices of $82.57 per barrel, up from $76.97 previously, this increase in revenue has, unfortunately, not benefited the common man nor translated into any benefit for the nation,” CNG stated.

Charanchi argued that increasing the minimum wage in the face of rising inflation, naira devaluation, and widespread economic crises will never solve Nigerian workers’ problems.

“While we appreciate the Federal Government’s intention to pay a decent living wage to Nigerian workers, we are sceptical of the Government’s plan to raise fuel prices further in order to fund the new national minimum wage.”

“The rise in fuel prices will not only overburden Nigerian workers, but will also economically impoverish Nigerians.

“Such a move is cruel and unjustified, especially given that the majority of Nigerians cannot afford a decent meal a day.

“We oppose this plan and urge the government to consider humane and innovative alternatives such as reducing wasteful spending and high governance costs, combating corruption, and raising taxes on luxury goods to fund the minimum wage.

“Wage increases that raise fuel prices are self-defeating.”

Charanchi also urged Tinubu to summon the necessary political will and courage to address the root causes of these problems, which include rising fuel pump prices, increases in electricity tariffs, rising food costs, the Naira’s depreciating value, and the high cost of governance.

“These issues predate your government, but the policies your administration has implemented since taking office have exacerbated them, particularly the imposition of high taxes on both citizens and businesses.

“In addition to the award of inessential contracts at indefensible amounts that harm the nation’s economy.”

“Regrettably, the majority of these contracts will be financed by borrowed money from foreign sources,” the CNG stated.