Afenifere, a powerful pan-Yoruba sociopolitical movement, has urged President Bola Tinubu to alter his administration’s economic policies.
The group claims that present policies have greatly impoverished Nigerians. Justice Faloye, Afenifere’s Publicity Secretary, made the request public yesterday.
In the statement, Afenifere voiced profound worry over the deteriorating economic situation under the current administration, emphasizing the negative effects on the common Nigerian.
Justice Faloye emphasized, “It is imperative that President Tinubu reassesses his economic policies and implements necessary reforms that will alleviate the suffering of millions of Nigerians.”
He also asked the President to emphasize the well-being of the people and implement more inclusive and successful economic policies.
Afenifere’s appeal comes as the country experiences rising inflation, unemployment, and economic hardship, all of which have fanned public anger and prompted calls for immediate government action.
The statement also indicates growing confidence that President Tinubu’s administration will keep its promises of economic rebirth and improved living circumstances for Nigerians.
Reviewing Tinubu’s first year in office, the Yoruba body said: “The economy has experienced severe turbulence in the one-year administration of President Bola Tinubu, worsening the previous administration’s economic legacy.
“Afenifere, hereby, calls for a better understanding of the economy to stop the alarming rate of inflation, devaluation, increasing unemployment, homelessness and poverty.
“Firstly, it is an illogical economic belief that the subsidy removals and tax increases that remove money from the economy will stimulate economic growth.
“Therefore, the adoption of flawed neo-liberal theories of subsidy removal and unbridled tax increases must be stopped since they always contract the economy and ours is no exception as companies are folding up and leaving due to fuel and electricity costs skyrocketing, fuelling galloping inflation and fall of real incomes.
“These policies are crowding out the productive sectors of the economy from much-needed loans. The hikes in interest rates are not effective in curbing inflation for the twin reasons that whatever loans are withheld from the private sector by the restrictive policies are flowing to the government which is spending recklessly and pumping the same funds right back into the markets.
“The policy of floating the Naira without moderating the excesses of the free market speculators and hoarders, and a nation addicted to capital flight, is questionable economic logic. With 90 percent of our foreign exchange derived from oil and Gas, stopping government funding of the forex market was bound to lead to massive devaluation as witnessed. Our collective patrimony is not only meant to fund the political class but to stimulate the economy and abundance of life to the greatest number of citizens. This is the Afenifere standard of governance.
“The problems inherited from the Buhari administration have been compounded by the inept management of the economy by the Tinubu administration, following the example of their predecessor by spending recklessly while looking for loans and additional taxes to fund the profligacy.
“Tinubu’s administration in Lagos State is credited for a hyped increasing Internally Generated Revenue that never translated into the development of the kind of infrastructure built by the Jakande administration.
“Unfortunately it appears that President Tinubu is still possessed by this mindset of taxing the poor to transfer to the privileged especially cronies. We are being inundated with all sorts of hare-brained tax schemes like communication, cyber security taxes etc and even once toyed with mandating grossly underfunded universities to remit to the Government purse a percent of their earnings.
“At the end of the first year of Tinubu’s administration, the question is whether our continued arrested economic development is due to corruption or incompetence.
“From failure to mine and refine crude oil to unjustified loans, and excessive cost of governance, it is the people that are made to suffer the tragic consequences.
“This economic dispensation of Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop must be halted before the sociopolitical fabric of Nigeria is destroyed beyond repair.”
