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A former Governor of Kano State, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, has advised President Bola Tinubu's government to conduct a thorough review of its policies and make adjustments where needed to cushion the prevalent hunger and hardship in the country.
The Nigerian economy ran into turbulence following the implementation of fuel subsidy removal and unification of the exchange rate by the Tinubu government.
The twin policies resulted in the plummeting of the nation's currency, the naira, to an all-time low as well as skyrocketing price of petrol pump price, triggering a hike in prices of food and other commodities.
Due to the resultant economic hardship, Nigerians across several states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) embarked on hunger protests last week to register their displeasure.
Shekarau asks Tinubu to review policies
Proffering solutions to the issues, the former Governor asked the President and his team to review their policies and admit to mistakes.
He made this known while speaking on Friday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“As we say in the teaching job, the best learning is when you learn through your mistakes.
“Let the government sit back and identify: ‘What areas have you made some errors? What mistakes have you made? What pronouncements have been made in error? What policies were put in place that are really breeding this kind of crisis of hunger and high cost of living and inflation [food] of 40 per cent?” he said.
Subsidy removal triggers hyperinflation
Since the end of the subsidy regime, Nigeria has been recording an exponential increase in inflation figures.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)'s latest report put the inflation figure at 34% in June 2024, making essential items unaffordable for millions of Nigerians.
Despite the President's efforts to cushion the effect of the economic reforms, including the distribution of food palliatives to states, the signing of a new minimum wage bill, and payment of stipends to the vulnerable, many citizens are still feeling the negative bit.
The ongoing nationwide demonstration is the masses' response to the hunger and hardship, as they call on the government to provide an immediate solution.
For Shekarau, he wants the Tinubu government to admit to its mistakes and make necessary corrective steps.
“Admit there are some wrongs that have been committed; some errors and probably certain things have been taken for granted,” he said, adding "This is the time to sit back and address them.”