In a scathing critique of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies, Atlanta-based Professor of Journalism, Farooq Kperogi, has highlighted the stark contrast between the government’s austerity measures and its leaders’ lavish lifestyles.
In his Saturday Tribune column titled “Tinubu: Overfed Father of Starving Children,” Kperogi lamented the dire state of poverty in Nigeria, stating that “Nigeria has one of the world’s highest poverty rates.”
He emphasized that the living conditions for most Nigerians have deteriorated significantly, noting, “Most Nigerians now live in way worse poverty than I lived in when I was growing up.”
Kperogi pointed out that Tinubu’s economic reforms have essentially stripped citizens of essential subsidies, such as affordable petrol and subsidized education, which he argues are vital for the survival and progress of the average Nigerian.
He criticized the government’s rationale for these reforms, which suggest that “sacrifice is required to rejig the economy,” claiming it to be disingenuous. “The justification for these ‘reforms’ is that Nigeria is too poor to be able to sustain programs that help the poor to survive and thrive,” he wrote. “So, sacrifice is required to rejig the economy. Money saved from the (temporary) withdrawal of the state from the lives of the people will be invested to ensure a greater, brighter, more prosperous tomorrow. Untrue, but fair enough.”
However, Kperogi raised a crucial question: why must the sacrifice be one-sided?
As ordinary Nigerians grapple with soaring petrol and electricity prices that significantly impact their daily lives, he noted that President Tinubu has acquired a new presidential jet costing $150 million, equivalent to more than N150 billion.
He further criticized the allocation of N12.7 billion in the 2023 supplementary budget for maintaining the presidential air fleet, questioning the morality of such expenses in a country struggling to provide basic subsidies for its citizens.
“The kind of primitive acquisitiveness and conspicuous consumption that are becoming the trademark of President Tinubu at the expense of subjecting the broad masses of the people to the most extreme deprivation that Nigeria has witnessed in living memory has no moral right to expect patriotism or willing sacrifice,” Kperogi asserted.
He concluded with a powerful statement, urging the government to lead by example: “If President Tinubu and members of this government are serious about ‘sacrificing,’ in light of the fact that Nigeria is ‘broke,’ they should first give up their own ‘subsidies.’ There is neither honor nor dignity in being the overfed father of starving children.”
