That it took almost 15 months for the anger to spill onto the streets in many cities across the land is a clear indi- cation that Nigerians were ready to give their leaders a chance, to show that they understood what the citizens were going through, and were patiently waiting for them to come up with solutions. The genesis of what transpired two Thursdays ago, sadly with some loss of lives, can actually be traced to the decision of newly sworn-in President Bola Tinubu to do away with the fuel subsidy regime without considering the consequences of such an action, or having in place plans to mitigate its effects.

Incidentally despite the fact that fuel prices shot up by well over 200 per cent, Nigerians still bore the increase stoically, largely on account of transporters not in- creasing their fares by the same percentage, which would have shot up the cost of goods and services by an even larger margin However, this price honeymoon was to end soon when the President then decid- ed to float the local currency against the dollar, which for an import-dependent na- tion then had immediate and catastrophic consequences on the prices of goods and services. The rate, which was roughly N750/$ early last year, rose to about N1,600 in less than one year. Of course, this sent inflation skyrocketing to 34.19 per cent while food inflation was even higher at over 40 per cent – the highest since the mid-90s.

Between June 2023 and June 2024, to- mato prices soared by 320 per cent. A kilo of local rice went from about N608 to N1, 720, while the ‘masses food,’ gari, jumped from N403 to N1, 135 – according to Na- tional Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figures. Of course, we all know the well-known adage: A hungry man is an angry man. And, it was inflation more than anything else that has led to the rising anger against the government of the day as people struggled to put food on their tables. However, it is clear that what has stiffened peoples’ dislike of the present government is that rather than things im- proving, despite repeated admonitions to that effect by the politicians, the citizens have only seen their situation degenerat- ing while those calling for sacrifices are clearly not willing to give up any of their comforts. Thus, while millions are struggling to make ends meet, the 469 members of the National Assembly purchased SUVs for themselves, which cost the taxpayers roughly N57.6 billion.

The executive arm has also not been left out of this profligacy, pushing through a N2.1 trillion Supplementary Budget late last year with N7.3 billion going to the purchase of vehicles for the State House, including the First Lady’s office, which also got N1.5 billion for cars; while N21 billion was expended on completing the official residence of the Vice President. Other expenditure included N100 billion for projects in Abuja; N604 billion for security and defence; N300 billion for the maintenance of bridges across the country and N8 billion for the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, and other new minis- tries, among others. In all these, the Presidency announced that it was in the market for a new presi- dential plane, and eventually bought one, insisting that the one currently in service was 19 years old and gulping a lot of money to maintain. Conversely, Great Britain that has a GDP of $3.495 trillion compared to Nige- ria’s $440 billion provides no such luxu- ries for her Prime Minister who flies com- mercial airlines for international travels; while Air Force One, the official plane of the US President, is 34 years old. But then, this is Nigeria! The so-called ‘Giant of Africa’ and, thus, must project this status even though it has been given the moniker, ‘Poverty capital of the world’ with the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index survey, which revealed that that 63 per cent of persons living in Nigeria (roughly 133 million) are multi-dimen- sionally poor. Sadly, last Sunday, President Tinubu lost a golden opportunity to have doused the protests and tension in the land by not only offering some concessions to the protesters but, at least, showing some compassion for the tough economic sit- uation most of his citizens have found themselves in because of his policies.

He currently runs the largest cabinet in the history of the country with 48 mem- bers, who in turn use 192 brand new cars (at four per minister), have 720 aides (15 per minister), and 240 security personnel (five per minister). All these come with a huge cost on the nation’s treasury. Of course, his apologists will say that if he hadn’t heard the cries of the people he would not have addressed the nation in the first place, but the mark of a leader is the ability to not only gauge the mood of the people but also make concessions where necessary. Tinubu’s counterpart in East Africa, Kenya’s William Ruto, who faced similar protests in his country, went on air to ad- dress his angry countrymen and offered them concrete concessions like reducing the size of his cabinet, scrapping the Office of the First Lady and suspended foreign travels, among other olive branches.

Before his nationwide broadcast, he had also made an effort to connect with the youngsters through the social media platform ‘X’ where he had tried to explain why he had taken some of the hard deci- sions he made before the U-turn. Incidentally, the East Africans hit the streets like many did in Nigeria because, just like their West African counterparts, they were going through tough times while their ruling elite appeared to be im- mune from the hardship they were facing. Although Ruto’s nationwide address did not appease everybody, at least it played a big part in reducing the tension in the land and, for some weeks now, Ken- ya has not been making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

While the protests in Nigeria may have tapered out, it should not be lost on the rulers that what prompted it – hunger – is still looming large in the country; and so long as it exists there is every likelihood that hungry Nigerians will once again hit the streets in the not-too-distant future. I conclude with this reminder of what a leader of the French Revolution, JeanJacques Rousseau, said about the last op- tion of the hungry: “When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich (Quand le peuple n’aura plus rien à manger, il mangera le riche).” I hope those in charge take note and make a concrete effort to reconnect with the citizens in order to ward off a repeat of the recent protests.