The 33rd President of the United States, Harry Truman, famously had a plaque with the inscription: “The Buck Stops Here,” placed conspicuously on his desk. This was done to reflect his belief that he was ultimately responsible for the actions of his administration, which ran from1945 to 1953.

And now, 70 years later, our President, Bola Tinubu, has opted to toe the line of the late US President when he first ended the subsidy regime on May 29, 2023 and then followed up with the floating of the naira and hike in electricity tariffs.

Last week, he laid to rest the controversy surrounding who was behind the latest decision to again increase the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) by 50.1 per cent to N855 from the previous N568.

Before the President made this clarification some 9,903 kilometres away in China, government officials and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had been passing the buck over the latest increase.

Last Tuesday, the Federal Government denied reports suggesting that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources had instructed the NNPCL to sell fuel at N1, 000/litre.

The reports had claimed that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, had given the directive. However, dismissing the report in a statement signed by the Special Adviser, Media and Communication, to the Minister, Nnamaka Okafor, the FG declared that the report was concocted and ill-conceived to sow discord and confusion in the oil industry.

The statement stressed that there was never a time the FG interfered with petroleum pricing with NNPC Ltd, let alone give directives for price increase.

However, the same day the statement was released, NNPCL’s stations across the country quietly adjusted their prices, with stations in Lagos indicating N855/litre!

But speaking 72 hours later in Beijing to Nigerians living in China, President Tinubu confirmed that he was the one that signed off on the latest hike. He said the petrol price hike and other reforms by his administration are part of an overall strategy to set Nigeria on the path of economic growth.

“Nigeria is going through reforms, and we are taking very bold and unprecedented decisions. For example, you might have been hearing from home in the last few days about fuel prices,” the President had told his audience.

“What is the critical part to get us there if we cannot take hard decisions to pave the way for a country that is blessed and so talented? “The more you want everything for free; it will become more expensive and long-delayed to achieve meaningful development.”

Speaking further, Tinubu defended the decision to further hike the price of fuel, saying hard decisions are crucial to economic prosperity. “But, can we help it? Can we develop good roads like you have here?

You see electricity being constant in quantity and quality. You see water supply, constant and running, and you see their good schools. And we say we want to hand over a banner without stain to our children?” The President noted: “One economic action leads to another, and it is in your hand to build our nation.

Mine is to provide leadership, and I am committed to doing just that. We are focused, and I have a very good team.” Unfortunately, while he undoubtedly has a point about taking hard decisions for the good of the nation, however, we have often heard such rhetoric from previous administrations with the living conditions of Nigerians getting worse rather than improving.

Besides, some of Tinubu’s actions have gone a long way to leave him vulnerable to widespread criticisms. And one of the major condemnations has been his failure to reign in the cost of governance.

Already operating the largest cabinet in history with 48 ministers, in July he announced the establishment of another, Ministry of Livestock Development!

This is in spite of the fact that five months earlier he had announced to the nation that his administration would be revisiting the Oronsaye Report, which was commissioned some 12 years ago by President Goodluck Jonathan in an effort to reduce the cost of governance.

Jonathan never implemented it and the man that replaced him President Muhammadu Buhari also refused to touch the report for the eight years he was in charge of the country.

And now despite announcing that the report will be “fully implemented” with much fanfare in February and even going on to set up a committee, which was given a 12-week time limit to submit its report, nothing has been heard from the government since then.

However, nothing is more galling for millions than the President’s failure to identify with the feelings of the people, who have been adversely affected by his ‘hard decisions’, than cutting down on some of his own expenses and other senior officials.

For instance, despite the best efforts of the government there is no justification in splashing a staggering $150 million on the purchase and upgrading of the new Airbus A300 presidential jet when the nation is struggling to meet its forex obligations to businessmen and manufacturing companies.

Government spin doctors had pushed out the narrative that there was a need to replace the 19-year-old Boeing BJ 737 because it was old only for the nation to learn that the ‘new’ plane was only four years younger!

This aside, the Presidency then spent another $1 million on the purchase of two armoured Cadillac Escalade ultra-luxury SUVs when his former occupant of Aso Rock, Buhari had also splashed heavily on acquiring two top of the range armoured Mercedes Benz S650 Maybachs at a combined cost of $340, 000.

Before then, late last year, he had also gotten approval to spend N1.5 billion on cars for Aso Rock; including the office of the First Lady while another N21 billion was spent early this year on completing the residence of Vice President Kashim Shettima.

The legislature is also not left out, having spent some N57.6 billion on the purchase of luxury SUVs for 469 members of the National Assembly last year.

In ‘normal’ times, not many eyebrows would have been raised but in the present circumstances in which the nation’s economy is in Intensive Care Unit, and millions of Nigerians are in multidimensional poverty, the optics are not just right and bound to anger citizens who are struggling to survive while the political elite are feeding fat.

For the people to buy into the President’s ‘tough decisions’ mantra, it’s only right and proper for the people to see that he is also feeling their pains – just like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo did when as military head of state he went ‘low profile’ doing away with Mercedes Benz cars for cheaper Peugeot 504 models.

This will, undoubtedly, make more Nigerians identify with the President’s ‘tough decision’ making policies.