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.

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.