That poverty-stricken Nigerians are dying needlessly daily as a result of hunger and depression is no longer news. No thanks to multidimensional poverty, poor mental health and lack of affordable health care ravaging the land.

There is galloping inflation, occasioned by haphazard policies of the Tinubu-led administration; particularly the abrupt removal of fuel subsidy.

To worsen matters, there is widespread and excruciating starvation and hardship which is gradually choking and snuffing life out of many Nigerians.

The situation has deteriorated to an abysmal level that urban and rural poor can no longer afford high prices of foodstuffs and commodities in the market and this is a serious source of concern.

On the other hand, the rich are not finding it easy either, because of mounting requests for assistance from the down-trodden. Worst hit by the economic crisis are household consumables. To eat once a day in most homes today is a luxury.

 All is not well in Nigeria. Yet, the political class enjoying jumbo pay and bogus government allowances have continued to urge the Nigerians to exercise patience, insisting there is “renewed hope”. Alas, what is in existence is hopelessness and hunger in the land.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in Sept., food inflation increased to 32.72 percent from 23.67 percent in the corresponding year, an unfortunate reality largely due to the sudden fuel subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu. Instructively, Vice President Kashim Shettima admitted during the recent Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja that some of the economic reforms of the present administration have been painful, though  inevitable.

According to the Vice President, many other nations like Nigeria were experiencing significant economic problems over the past few years.

 “Nigeria’s growth trajectory has been volatile, heavily dependent on oil revenue and unable to create enough jobs to keep pace with our rapidly growing population. As a nation, we must prioritize economic diversification.

“Considering this, the present administration, through the Renewal Hope Agenda has embarked on bold and courageous reforms designed to create an environment that fosters sustainable economic growth and shared prosperity, though painful at the moment. Our focus is on sectors that can offer inclusive and sustainable growth such as agriculture, manufacturing and the digital economy,” he explained.

While commending the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) for being in the forefront of helping the government by creating a platform for meaningful conversation on the economy, he said the opportunity has made it imperative to halt the catastrophe before it consumes the country.

Despite the fact that the recent figures from the NBS show that inflation fell to 33.40 percent in the month of June, the reality is that inflation is still driving up the prices of essential commodities like food and petrol, thereby exacerbating the hardship and hunger ravaging the urban and rural poor, as small increases in the cost of basic goods and foodstuffs impact negatively on low-income families.

Although records show that food inflation has slightly decreased to 39.53 percent from 40.87 percent, as a result of harvesting period, the slight reduction has not translated into lower prices in the market.

Nigerians are of the common view that the avoidable economic downturn in the country, owes much to the unprecedented devaluation of the naira – a direct consequence of high inflation – which has reduced low-income families to unimaginable levels of desperation and destitution; to the extent that those caught up in this web are now sacrificing essential needs like their children’s education and often times healthcare just to live from hand to mouth.

It is fair to state categorically that the removal of fuel subsidy has really brought about untold hardship to millions of Nigerians because fuel price hike has driven up the prices of goods and services throughout the country.

Despite the monumental corruption in the oil sector vis-a-vis the so-called subsidy regime, the greatest victims of subsidy removal are the masses. This is because fuel is the essential ingredient that drives and revolves round most activities in the country, ranging from transportation, small and medium scale enterprises, petty businesses, technology and tourism.

During the campaign to remove the subsidy, the issue that elicited a lot of concern was federal government’s inability to identify and penalize those benefiting from the fraud called fuel subsidy.

No matter the level of corruption in the oil industry, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the drivers of the reforms in the sector in collaboration with Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), should have been able to stop the payment of subsidies to the faceless importers of petroleum products and channel the resources into the provision of infrastructure and employment for the benefit of the people, rather than outright removal of the subsidy, a move which has dealt a major blow to the nation’s economy.

Halting the hardship in the country and reviving an economy which is contending with high fiscal deficits, low Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and high inflation are as complex and challenging as fighting corruption in a nation like Nigeria. But it can be achieved if the government becomes more strategic and intentional in its game plan to reverse the ugly trend.

If there is (political) will, there must be a way. The popular refrain among government officials is that Nigeria is not the only country passing through economic hardship. That is not far from the truth but mouthing such excuses without marshaling any action plan for sustainable economic growth could be suicidal.

The federal government has consistently appealed to Nigerians to tighten-up their belts and they have complied and are still complying. Surprisingly, top government officials are not practising what they are preaching, whereas more than a 100 million Nigerians living in extreme poverty are subjected to unbearable austerity measures.

A government that fails to encourage and promote transparency and accountability does not have the legal and moral justification to urge people to continue tightening-up their belts. There is an urgent and compelling need for the federal government to implement the much orchestrated fiscal discipline by reducing non-essential government spending and improving the effectiveness of public infrastructure, security and welfare of the citizenry.

Unless and until the government stops its unnecessary lip service of insisting that Nigeria is on the path to progress and urgently reduces its over reliance on oil exports and promote other critical sectors like agriculture, manufacturing and technology, the much needed economic revival would remain nothing but a dream.

Again, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEAs) must receive the support of government as this would foster entrepreneurship and innovation. But without power such expectations are impossible. Sadly, the crisis in the power sector is not going away. Instead, the growing challenge has overwhelmed the present administration just as those before it.

DAILY ASSET strongly believes that addressing inflation, the fallout of which is the untold hardship Nigerians are experiencing today, requires a frontal and comprehensive approach from the federal government rather than the lopsided reforms that encourage wasteful spending to the detriment of the masses.

For instance, government cannot overhaul and fix its moribund refineries which have gulped over $25 billion in the last 27 years but can unilaterally jack up prices of petroleum products, the way it did under subsidy removal.

Similarly government must not arbitrarily raise cost of electricity and other taxes without addressing epileptic power supply and other associated challenges.

There must be a complex balance of pragmatism and sustained commitment to promote, sustain and consolidate economic stability, growth and productivity.

Critical stakeholders in the agriculture sector have persistently warned that the relentless wave of attacks against farmers in Nigeria by cattle pastoralists, bandits and kidnappers could further contribute to the nation’s economic woes. Already, there is unprecedented shortfall in food supplies.

This unfortunate trend threatens to push Nigeria deeper into a devastating hunger crisis. Increasing attacks on farmers across parts of the country have led to displacement of farmers, market disruptions and loss of livelihoods. In particular, food basket states like Benue, Niger, Kaduna, Borno, Plateau, Kogi and farming communities are being relegated and dehumanised to camps as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), thereby worsening the food crisis in the country.Bandits, kidnappers and other dare-devil armed groups have been killing farmers in their hundreds while others are kidnapped and made to buy their lives with millions of naira, thus forcing many farmers to abandon their farms.To worsen the situation, there are devastating floods in many parts of the country which have claimed dozens of lives and have washed away thousands of hectares of cultivated farmlands. This has exacerbated the plight of farmers. The climate change crisis is more likely to push many more people into hunger because of the flooding and unpredictable rainfall pattern, far more severe than in previous years will further compound the food crisis.Last year, the UN estimated that more than 25 million people in Nigeria could face food insecurity this year, a 47 percent increase from the 17 million people who were already at risk of going hungry – mainly due to the ongoing insecurity, protracted conflicts, and the projected rise in food prices.In addition, an estimated 2million children under the age of five in the northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe are likely to be pushed into acute malnutrition while about 700,000 will face life threatening starvation.Also, in the 2023 Global Hunger Index, Nigeria ranked 109th out of the 125 countries with food shortage with a score of 28.3 in the 2023 Global Hunger Index. Thus, Nigeria has a level of hunger that is serious.Already, the food crisis, insecurity and corruption have reached an alarming rate which triggered a 10-day protest across the country last month.DAILY ASSET is of the view that for the Tinubu administration to get Nigeria out of the woods, it must redouble efforts to tame the rising spate of insecurity in the country.That the nation’s armed forces must urgently embrace technology and involve new strategies to restore security for the displaced farming communities to resume full farming activities.Additionally, the federal and state governments should explore the possibility of tackling unemployment, poverty and inequality.Also, the porous borders have to be strengthened to prevent the influx of undesirable elements through increased surveillance by security agencies.The complex challenges facing Nigeria can only be tamed through the implementation of workable strategies, commitment and cooperation among all stakeholders.

Akin to an eagle-eyed combat pilot on a reconnaissance mission – making his flight preparations, loading the right ammunition and aiming at his target without missing, so was Prof. Is’haq Olarewaju Oloyede, when he arrived the headquarters of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), upon his appointment in 2016.

In the first few months of his assumption of office, activities pervaded to the lowest ebb at the JAMB headquarters.

Like a fighter pilot on a rescue mission, Oloyede embarked on a discreet but holistic audit of the board. He was simply planning how to navigate his flight in order to hit his target, without missing.

While in the closet planning, there was a shift in the timetable date of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UMTE) for that year and tongues went wagging, mostly from staffers of the board that the newly appointed Professor of Islamic Studies and “controversial” former Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin, was totally confused and clueless about the demands of the office and the direction to take the examination body.

After the audit, Oloyede gathered enough information and momentum. He then released his mission and vision for the examination body, chief of which was to reposition the board technologically to eliminate all forms of examination malpractices and timely release of results to candidates – three days of sitting for the examination.

Those pronouncements were followed with wide ranging reforms, including unraveling of mind blowing malfeasance of corruption involving several workers of the board. For instance, a staff of the board in Benue State was involved in massive fraud of stealing millions of naira from the sale of examination scratch cards which she claimed was swallowed by “a snake” from the office save.

In Nasarawa State, the staff of the board who was also caught in fraudulent financial malfeasance claimed his car was burnt along Abuja-Lafia road with all the examination scratch cards that were meant for sale to prospective candidates in the state.

 In Kogi State, the staff of the board with itchy fingers claimed he had borrowed money to the state civil servants who were being owed several months of salaries. The ugly stories of massive stealing of the board’s funds reverberated in many states including the headquarters where the former helmsman, Prof. Dibu Ojorinde is currently standing trial for allegedly stealing hundreds of millions of naira.

With those monumental financial malfeasances, candidates were hitherto ripped off of their hard earned money as the examination body was shrouded in fraudulent and chaotic scheming. Consequently, floods of complaints poured in from several quarters on pre-registration and post examination irregularities.

But Oloyede’s surgical knife had cleaned the process and restored sanity after one year in office. By the second year, the examination body had saved over N8 billion and remitted same to the Federal Government, a remarkable departure from about N300 million the examination body was hitherto remitting per year to the government.

Thus, in 2018, the Muhammadu Buhari administration had to review downward the cost of registration of the UTME to N4,500 per candidate from the over N7,000 hitherto charged.

Elated by these remarkable achievements, President Bola Tinubu applauded Prof. Oloyede’s innovative ideas and financial prudence at a recent public engagement organised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). .

“One person I always respect is Prof Is’haq Oloyede. Over the years, JAMB never made up to $1m for the Federal Government.

“However, when Prof Oloyede assumed office, JAMB made over N50bn for the Federal Government in one year.”

Another landmark achievement is the initiative in providing Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) the opportunity to register for the 2024/2025 UTME at no cost. This will ensure equal educational opportunities for all, irrespective of physical abilities,

Additionally, the board has acquired some basic tools required by PWDs, like braille machines, personal computers with enlarged features, et al, for persons with special needs.

At a time of verbal rhetoric about fighting corruption by most public servants who are short on practical implementation, at a time revenue generating departments and agencies carry out opaque operations with no tangible results, JAMB, under the captainship of Oloyede, unarguably stands as a referral government agency for transparency.

DAILY ASSET, while commending the management and staff of JAMB, for their commitment to hard work, is pleased to extend warm accolades to a nonconformist and unconventional public servant with passion for accountability and service to humanity.