{"id":39021,"date":"2024-06-02T19:27:31","date_gmt":"2024-06-02T19:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/appsaf.apieproject.com\/news\/?p=39021"},"modified":"2024-06-02T19:27:34","modified_gmt":"2024-06-02T19:27:34","slug":"is-nigeria-on-the-right-track-after-a-year-of-tinubu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/appsaf.apieproject.com\/news\/2024\/06\/02\/is-nigeria-on-the-right-track-after-a-year-of-tinubu\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Nigeria On The Right Track After A Year Of Tinubu?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nigerians love their football but it is no longer the main topic of conversation for many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the first anniversary of the Bola Tinubu presidency, Abubakar Sheka, who sells bread on the streets of the northern city of Kano, says that his customers\u2019 primary focus is now on what they can afford to buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFootball talk is only sweet when the tummy is full but at the moment a lot of Nigerians are finding it difficult to feed, which makes people always talk about the economy when they meet,\u201d the 36-year-old tells the BBC above the noise of the morning traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has also noticed that fewer people are buying bread as the price has more than doubled since last May, reflecting the increase in the cost of flour, cutting off many families from one of the country\u2019s basic staples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inflation, coupled with the falling value of the currency, the naira, has been the major theme for many of the past 12 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Nigeria has been hit by the same harsh economic winds as much of the rest of the world, some of what has happened is a direct result of the policies of President Tinubu, sworn in to office exactly a year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new president, 71 at the time, had won a bruising election with 37% of the vote \u2013 a result that was then disputed in court. His task was to bring the country back together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also faced a challenging financial situation, along with concerns about kidnapping and corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid the pomp and lofty sentiments on inauguration day, the president let slip a major announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFuel subsidy is gone,\u201d he told Nigerians without giving a timetable for when the policy would be in place, or any measures that might cushion the inevitable blow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decades-old subsidy was costing the nation huge sums of money which Mr Tinubu argued would be better spent elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresident Bola Tinubu\u2019s inauguration speech began at around 10:00 and by 11:00 there are already fuel queues across Nigeria,\u201d public affairs analyst Hashim Abubakar says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat statement sent prices of fuel and other items skyrocketing immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n