TINUBU’S REFORMS SHIELDED NIGERIANS FROM THE HARSHEST EFFECTS OF US-IRAN WAR

Onwuasoanya FCC Jones, PhD

Many people took it for granted that Nigeria is one of the few countries in the world where the US-Iran war had the least impact on citizens. Across different countries of the world, the five week war caused major disruptions to the daily lives of ordinary citizens due to disruptions in energy supplies, economic uncertainties, inflation in the prices of basic commodities, etc.

While prices of petroleum products experienced slight spikes, compared to what is obtainable in other countries, including the USA, the average Nigerian was saved from experiencing the most disruptive impacts of the war due to President Tinubu’s bold reforms and creative approach to governance.

In advanced countries such as Australia, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz caused a significant energy crisis for citizens; biting scarcity of petrol, unprecedented hike in prices of petrol products across the country, high transportation costs, both for air and land travels. Families found out that they had to spend more to purchase their usual groceries and to obtain other services. This is the situation across different countries, including; India, Bahrain, and several other countries. PMS sold at the highest price it has ever sold in the history of that country, and should this two weeks ceasefire fail to hold for a very long time, the situation will definitely get worse.

But in Nigeria, we were largely fine. People lived their lives with very little disruptions and very little uptick in their daily expenses. On paper and in practical terms, our economy withstood, to a large extent, the negative impacts of this war.

Petrol is the oil of every economy. No matter how anyone wants to twist it, if we didn’t have petrol in our filling stations, our lives wouldn’t have been the same. We would have been unable to do a lot of things. But unlike in many other countries, our filling stations were running in full capacity, and the hike in pump prices was nothing to compare to those of other countries. Nigeria is one of the few countries in the world, where the difference in the price of petrol from the pre-war time to this time is less than One dollar.

If President Tinubu had not removed the subsidy on petrol and given private refineries all the policy support and security he had given them to operate, we would have continued to depend entirely or largely on imported refined petroleum products, and Nigerians would have felt the strains. We would not only have bought PMS at over 4000 Naira per litre, we wouldn’t have even seen any to buy, because the scarcity would have bitten harder.

Vision and courage are the biggest assets of a good leader, and there is no doubt that President Tinubu has those in quite a generous supply, and Nigerians are the better for it. Nigerians of good conscience shall continue to be grateful for the gift of President Tinubu at this point in our history. While there are still many works to be done, the path is already clear to achieving greater comfort for all Nigerians, because we do not only have a President who wishes to get things right, but we also have a President who has the courage required to take tough decisions and tough actions for the benefit of the country and her citizens.

Nigeria is Prevailing!