Northern coalition warns of looming revolution in Nigeria

 

Joseph Irikefe

 

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to take proactive measures to address the economic doldrums and current harsh economic realities confronting Nige­rians, noting that revolution looms in Nigeria.

Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Cha­ranchi, National Coordinator of CNG, who gave the warning at a media briefing yesterday, said “symptoms of revolt loom large in the horizon,” reports Saturday Independent.

Charanchi said today that life has become highly unbearable for the overwhelming majority of cit­izens, adding that “the suffering of Nigerians is palpable across every stratum.

“The CNG holds the present and previous governments responsible for creating 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 imminent massive revolt of citizens against the government.

“Mr. President, cosmetic mea­sures are usually not sufficient to contain the raging anger of the people, particularly when they are inundated by economic hard­ships, massive hunger and ram­pant poverty, while the political class and their cohorts live a life of scandalous opulence and open ostentations.”

The Coalition of Northern Groups said that Tinubu’s Eco­nomic Team is the worst since the inception of Nigeria’s civil rule in 1999.

Charanchi said the economic team of President Tinubu lacks coordination, focus, foresight, and a clear understanding of the work­ings of the Nigerian economy.

“The anti-people policies of the government only enabled the few elite to primitively acquire wealth, while the vast majority of citizens continue to languish in deep pov­erty.”

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

According to Charanchi, “The CNG has critically reviewed the current situation in Nigeria and strongly cautions against the looming precipitous collapse of the nation.

“We are deeply concerned about the general economic atmosphere, which portends imminent danger. It is, therefore, imperative to ad­dress the escalating hardship that has permeated every segment of Nigerian society.

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

“People are increasingly losing hope about the government’s eco­nomic policies and institutions of governance. This poses a great danger to our dear country.

“The CNG has observed that inflation has created horrible and traumatic economic consequences.

“It has led to huge losses on in­vestments, disruption of business activities, an increase in poverty, and unemployment.

“This is in addition to the social consequences created by insecuri­ty, such as displacement of commu­nities, loss of lives and properties, and psychological trauma.

“It is no longer news that perva­sive hardship across the country has eroded trust in the present government, and it’s exponentially threatening national unity, peace, and security.

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

“Disturbingly, despite no in­crease recorded in electricity gen­eration or renewal of transmission equipment, the electricity tariff has skyrocketed by an average of ₦71.59 to ₦225 which signifies a substantial rise of over 200 per cent, in the electricity course for band A with no corresponding increase in power supply and distribution.

“In the past six months, we have already experienced multiple national power grid collapses, in­cluding the most recent one which occurred on Saturday, July 6, 2024. This is detrimental to our develop­ment and industrialization drive.

“In the same vein, the ill-con­ceived floating of the naira has led to its depreciation from ₦463 to a dollar to ₦1,573, a stunning 240 per cent drop.

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

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

“In this dire situation, instead of providing relief, the Monetary Pol­icy Committee (MPC) announced an increase in interest rates, which will further devastate the economy and diminish the prospects for job creation.”

The CNG, therefore, called on Tinubu to reassess his economic advisers/tax regime committees whose misguided counsel has led to policies prioritising personal in­terests over national well-being, en­trenching poverty, unemployment, inequality and insecurity.