- Citizens seek improved living conditions, want govt policies to wear human face
- Fighting food inflation more urgent now than anything – Analysts
- ‘Our President, Governors, NASS members, others also need to tighten belts’
Nigerians in different sectors of the society have appealed to political leaders across the national and sub-national governments to prioritise their welfare in 2025.
The citizens from different walks of life including public affairs analysts, economic experts, community leaders, businessmen, civil servants and civil society organisations called on the federal and state governments to improve the economic conditions, ensure availability and affordability of food, fortify the security outlook of the country and be less corrupt in the New Year.
In their separate interviews with The Point, the stakeholders charged governments to concentrate more on the welfare and safety of the people instead of lavishing their budgets on white elephant projects and other programmes that may further impoverish the masses.
Their other demands from governments included stabilisation of the falling Naira, making the economy more attractive to foreign investors and friendly to small businesses, and improving the living conditions of citizens.
For some of these respondents, wealthy Nigerians should embark on philanthropic gestures that would bring reprieve to the downtrodden.
A religious leader, Seun Adeoye, advised the Federal and State Governments to partner private individuals who are well to do with a view to ameliorating hunger in the country.
The Presiding Bishop of Sufficient Grace and Truth International Ministries said the best New Year gift that President Bola Tinubu and all state governors could give to the Nigerian populace is to tackle food inflation and ensure that people get quality and affordable food to eat.
In a country where the poor are multiplying daily, the cleric noted that such development would not augur well for the society.
“For me, food is very essential in any society and we have gotten to a level where hunger has become a pandemic. People die while struggling for food items. I think this should worry everyone. That is why I will want to challenge our President, Governors and Local Government Chairpersons to make food production and affordability their major focus this year.
“It is sad to realize that out of 10 richest pastors in the world, eight of them are Nigerians. But it is unfortunate that rather than use their wealth to help the poor around them, the majority of them are living in affluence and engaging in ephemeral projects.
“It is a shame that our big pastors showcased their wealth and even competed with each other. They build walls around themselves and clamour for peoples’ worship to massage their egos. Let us note that our days are numbered.
“In the midst of hunger and suffering, our rich pastors are busy planning to ride the latest cars and even fly in jets around the world.
The wealthy pastors are struggling to build “one-in-town” cathedrals as if God wants to live in a house built by men.
“For me, what the government needs to do this year is to ensure that our weak naira is strengthened. Once we have Naira competing with dollars, things won’t be this expensive.”
“So, I want to admonish governments to collaborate with wealthy and influential Nigerians in a bid to share with the needy this year. The level of poverty in the country calls for urgent attention and this should be an emergency case for everyone who is in the position to offer a helping hand, starting from our political leaders,” Adeoye suggested.
Also speaking, a businessman, Funso Babarinde, identified provision of shelter and security as paramount for any government, calling on public office holders to do better in the area of economic revitalisation and security.
Babarinde asked President Bola Tinubu, state governors, members of the National and State Assemblies to tighten their belts and desist from wasteful spending in 2025.
He urged governments to tackle kidnapping, which he said has become a lucrative business in Nigeria.
While suggesting the use of technology in the ongoing fight against insecurity, Babarinde said, “It is high time that our governments started thinking about how to upgrade the fight against kidnapping, banditry and other forms of insecurity in the country. Government should deploy technology to tackle insecurity. Kidnapping has evolved into a very scary stage for Nigerians and it has been a lucrative business. I think the government should tackle this headlong.
“Now, the Lukawara group is gradually getting deadlier when we are still battling Boko Haram and banditry. Our security should be on top of their games this year. However, in all, I believe it is still a slow process and the only area I have issue with is that those who are at the helm of affairs are having while those at the downtrodden are yet to get relief. Government officials should also tighten their belts with us. They should stop expecting the suffering masses to endure and sacrifice when they are busy displaying luxury and wastefulness. We want to see our President, Governors, and other political leaders sacrifice in 2025,” he maintained.
Worried about spate of insecurity, a public affairs analyst, Emmanuel Olowu, emphasised the need for the nation’s borders to be more secure in 2025.
He believes that, “We need to have security and peace before we can even talk of food. The government and security agencies have to form a synergy. We have to make serious investments in our borders. The government has to be serious with the basic needs of the lives of Nigerians. Provide shelter, quality education and feeding. I want to see our governments this year being serious about the welfare of the people.
“Our leaders should solve the problem of hunger. We can invest in rice production. All governments at all levels should consider people first in all their programmes and policies. How an average man on the streets will live better should occupy the minds of our leaders this year,” he added.
Olowu advised governments to declare a state of emergency on agriculture and also think of the direct purchase for farmers.
“Government should look for a market for farmers so that the economy can grow faster. If all these are carried out, I believe 2025 will be far better than 2024,” he said.
Be frugal in spending public resources in 2025
A financial expert, Oludare Mudashiru, decried the huge expenditures in the 2025 budgets of the federal and state governments, saying that governments should spend less in order to have more funds to ease the country’s economic burdens in 2025.
He said President Tinubu and state governors should be ready to let go of needless foreign trips, purchase of items that do not add up to the living conditions of the masses and actions that further deplete the public purse.
Instead, the economist expects governments to be frugal in spending public resources in 2025 so as to cater for the basic needs of the common man such as food, shelter, good healthcare system and security.
“Government has already shown lack of empathy for the masses because if you have studied the 2025 budgets that many of the state governors have already signed into law, you will see that the past mistakes of prioritising humongous expenditures were repeated. This time, we expect that the government will become more economical in handling public revenue. This is not a time that anyone should spend on frivolities. If the people will experience a new lease of life, then, governments should drastically reduce the level of money earmarked for expenses and rather focus on saving money to meet critical needs of the people such as food, health and security. If these are not done, Nigerians should just brace up,” he said.
A development worker, Fidelis Kingsley, tasked the president to ensure that naira is stabilised while the refineries are seen to be effectively functional.
“For me, what the government needs to do this year is to ensure that our weak naira is strengthened. Once we have Naira competing with dollars, things won’t be this expensive. Another key area that President Tinubu should look into is our refineries. Now that they told us that the Port-Harcourt and Warri Refineries are working, we expect that something will change positively for us.
“I believe that if the price of petrol comes down to about N500 per litre, things will no longer be as tough as we are experiencing them now. In whatever our leaders think and do, it should be people’s welfare first. Enough of spending billions of naira on road projects when there are no healthy and well-fed citizens to walk the road.
Enough of constructing bridges when there are no affordable houses for people to live in. Now, accommodation is very expensive because building materials are increasing every day. So, that is why I am calling on the Federal Government to tackle inflation this year.
“Since President Tinubu has already promised to reduce inflation to 15 per cent in his New Year speech, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt that he will walk the talk before the second half of 2025,” Fidelis said.
As all state governments are expected to have concluded their local council elections in 2025, analysts urged governors to respect the constitution of the country by ensuring that elected chairpersons experience administrative autonomy.
Emmanuel Olowu said, “I believe that some states who did not conduct their local government elections last year will do that this year.
Therefore, my appeal to state governors is to respect the law of the land and make the council autonomy a reality. I strongly believe that if the local government enjoys autonomy, good governance will be entrenched in grassroots communities, especially as it regards food production, security and provision of quality healthcare services.”
“The President should just bring down food prices and ensure no further increase in fuel pump price. These are just what the masses need and not long speeches to impress the IMF and World Bank.”
LCCI expresses optimism
According to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries, the nation’s economy in 2024 experienced a tumultuous period marked by persistent rising prices, burdening interest rates, high cost of production, low demand, and an uncertain macroeconomic policy direction.
The Chamber is, however, optimistic as the reform initiative introduced by the government of President Bola Tinubu could bring about the much-needed transformation to turnaround the economy.
In the words of the President of LCCI, Gabriel Idahosa, the year 2024, “Stands at a critical juncture, presenting hope for possible transformative growth, which requires decisive and strategic policy actions to address lingering challenges.”
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismark Rewane, the triple challenges of surging inflation, naira volatility and the impact of full deregulation of the petroleum industry took the central stage.
Reflecting on the economy for the year, he said, “Nigerians endured another challenging year in 2024, with inflation surging to 34.6%, a 28-year high, and the naira experiencing sharp volatility amidst persistent economic headwinds. Petrol prices were fully deregulated after years of government intervention, marking a pivotal policy shift but intensifying short-term pressures on households and businesses.”
Focusing on the interplay of fiscal and monetary policies on the economy, the CEO of Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, expressed worries over disparities in sectoral growth during the year 2024.
Speaking to the impact of the disparities, he warned of the dominance of the service sector at the detriment of the real sector, stressing the negative implication on the economy during the period under review.
“The service sector continued to dominate the sectoral growth performance for most part of the year,” he stated.
Expatiating, he stated that, “In Q3 2024, the financial services sector outperformed other sectors with a growth performance of 32%.
Insurance grew by 19.8%, road transport grew by 17.9% and rail transportation 19.7%.”
He stated that, “real sector growth remained subdued during the year with agriculture posting a GDP growth of 1.14% and manufacturing, 0.92% in the third quarter of 2024. The Air Transport, Quarry & Minerals, Petroleum Refining and Textile sector remained in recession as at the third quarter of 2024.
“The implication is that sectors with high job creation potentials and prospects for economic inclusion are still struggling. This situation needs to be reversed to fix the current high unemployment and reduce poverty.”
According to him, the huge disparities in the growth of financial services and the rest of the economy are a reflection of the growing decoupling of the financial services sector from the real economy.
He added that, “It also exemplifies the failure of the financial intermediation role of the financial services sector in the Nigerian economy. It is a significant dysfunctionality in the economy which deserves the urgent attention of policy makers.”
He noted that currently investing in financial instruments has become much more profitable than investing in the real economy, because of the low-risk potential.
Yusuf, however, noted that the development is not consistent with the nation’s economic aspirations as it is a major disincentive to real sector investment.
“There is a need for appropriate policy measures to correct the huge disparity in the profitability between the real economy and the financial economy. There is also a progressive crowding out of the real economy in the financial markets,” he emphasized.
Looking ahead to 2025, the LCCI said the manufacturing sector is projected to grow moderately, driven by anticipated improvements in infrastructure, enhanced access to foreign exchange, and government policies aimed at promoting local production and reducing reliance on imports.
“Addressing structural bottlenecks, fostering innovation, and expanding public-private partnerships will be critical for unlocking the sector’s growth potential,” it stated.
Cautious optimism emerges, says Rewane
Speaking to expectations in 2025, Rewane said, “As we step into 2025, however, cautious optimism emerges.”
He stated that, “Structural reforms, particularly the CBN’s drive for improved transparency in the forex market, are showing early signs of stabilizing the naira and reducing volatility. Nigeria’s external position has strengthened, with concessional and capital inflows rising significantly compared to two years ago, signaling renewed investor confidence.
“Inflation is expected to peak and begin a gradual decline, with forecasts pointing to a reduction to the 25% range in 2025 and further easing to the mid-teens by 2026. To sustain this momentum, Nigeria must accelerate efforts to diversify its economy, especially given the looming risks of lower oil prices, while implementing policies that drive productivity and long-term economic resilience.”
Lighten our burden, fight food inflation in 2025
According to a Niger Delta human right activist, Peter Ogaga, the present administration has to be sincere with Nigerians on how the subsidy money is being spent or else, it will toe the same wasteful ways of previous administrations that squandered the little we had, instead of planning ahead.
“Forget about the queues at the airports by passengers travelling for the festive season. Many more couldn’t afford rice and chicken last festive season. Many Nigerians suffered last year and we are asking Mr. President and his team to lighten our burden because if you think you are rich now, requests from many relatives, friends and even enemies will impoverish you within a year,” Ogaga said.
Considering that many families struggled to put food on their table last year, a marine engineer and Port Harcourt-based seafarer, Marcel Tamuno, is asking President Tinubu to fight food inflation in 2025 to enable many mouths to feed as the level of begging by many who couldn’t afford daily meals was very high last year. He also observed that the widespread requests for assistance from Nigerians in 2024, put many supposedly benefactors, who are also facing the harsh economy, under intense pressure.
“It is becoming embarrassing the way people beg for alms, especially money for food. The requests are not only from your relations, but they come from all angles- friends, people in your estate, your mechanic, barber, tailor, shop attendants and even co-workers and strangers.
“It is a sad reflection of the harsh situation out there and the government should, as a matter of urgency, do something to address hunger in the land this year,” Tamuno said.
Tamuno also called on the government not to weaponize hunger as the people who have severally been pushed to the wall, might pull a surprise that will change the Nigerian political landscape forever this year.
“They say that ‘he who is already down fears no fall’; the masses have been down for a long time. Allowing hunger to persist in the land is like a keg of gunpowder that can explode any time,” he warned.
For a senior lecturer at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Onyewuchi Akagbule, as much as the present administration is bent on ensuring full implementation of its economic policies, it should also do that responsibly and with human face, not leaving out measures that will ensure quick recovery or negate the essence of the policies.
“The Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the military regime is obviously back through the back door. But political leaders and government officials seem not to be part of the belt-tightening thing; only the masses are feeling it.
“Mr. President and others in Aso Rock and government houses in the states should adjust as well, especially this 2025. You cannot share bags of local rice when you eat foreign brands, you cannot travel abroad for medical checks when Aso Rock Hospital is ill-equipped, you cannot fly helicopters to your hometown when the road is bad, because the contractor has settled you. Some don’t even eat our beef, they import from Botswana and their children have just returned to London, Paris and Atlanta after the festive holiday. So, where is the sincerity in fixing the economy, this should not continue this year,” Akagbule lamented.
He decried that Nigerians have been on this route severally and the poor are always the ones suffering as policy makers and implementers live large.
“The President should just bring down food prices and ensure no further increase in fuel pump price. These are just what the masses need and not long speeches to impress the IMF and World Bank,” Akagbule noted.
For a banker, Abidemi Amosu, fighting food inflation is more urgent now than anything.
“Imagine 50kg of rice selling above N100, 000 and it is not imported. How many people can afford it even if the minimum wage was N100, 000?
“Many families had nothing to eat last Christmas and are still managing to eat this new year. The government should look down with pity, the situation is bad and we that earn salaries can tell because we hardly save anything after meeting the many requests for assistance from relatives and friends,” Amosu said.
According to the banker, no country practices full capitalism, even America that champions it; hence, there should be a form of control to ensure price stability.
“Now, fuel prices are coming down, but transport fares are not and food prices are still high. As much as the government is aggressive at implementing its economic policies, it should monitor results at all levels to ensure no sabotage in the system. Even if the dollar comes down to N500, many will still not reduce their prices and that is where a responsible government comes in,” he said.
For a Plateau State farmer, Idrisu Yahaya, hunger will persist in 2025 if the government does not sincerely fight insecurity, especially in the rural areas, where terrorist attacks have not allowed farming.
“We do not import most food items again and our farmers do not farm like before because of the fear of attacks by bandits and hoodlums. So, how do you expect Nigeria to feed its people? The government knows this and should fight insecurity sincerely if they want hunger to go in 2025,” he said.
Now that two refineries and a private one are working, a Nigerian diaspora, Samuel Onikoyi, is asking the government to capitalise on the feat to boost the economy in 2025.
“We are happy with what is happening in the oil sector now. But the reduction in fuel pump price should continue this year to ensure stability in the economy. It will also impact the dollar if sustained and reduce prices of commodities, especially food items,” Onikoyi said.
But he warned that Nigeria should not continue on a borrowing spree in 2025 to allow the economy to breathe as it has many loans to service, especially from the World Bank, Exim Bank of China, among other debts.
He also called on the government to aid small scale businesses as bank interest rates are unbearable, low purchasing power, electricity tariff and multiple taxation have not allowed these businesses to stay afloat and boost employment across the country.
“Nigeria’s rate of unemployment is among the worst in the world today. It is going to reach over 40 percent by the end of this year if nothing is done. This calls for an urgent need to offer SMEs necessary incentives to boost their operations and capacity to create employment,” Onikoyi said.
