While President Ahmed Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has continued to call on Nigerians to take with him “baby steps of pain” which according to him must be experienced before Nigeria would be fixed, his counterpart in Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who is 28 years younger in age, needed just a few weeks in power to hit the ground running for his people.
President Faye’s Swift Economic Reforms in Senegal
Since being sworn in on the 2nd of April 2024 as the 5th President of the Republic of Senegal after a successful ballot box revolution, Faye has not put a foot wrong in his quest to deliver on his campaign promises for the people of Senegal. So far, the 44-year-old President has been able to sustain the hope that greeted his emergence as the youngest-elected President of Senegal (and Africa in whole) by swiftly embarking on a series of people-oriented policies.
Under his brief watch, Senegal has witnessed a major boost in its economy as he led the country into becoming, for the first time in its history, an oil-producing country.
Faye’s Economic Initiatives
In another effort to improve the standards of living for his people and in a bid to cushion the effect of poverty and unemployment in his country, Faye, on June 13 2024, announced, through his Secretary General, Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo, that his government will soon begin the implementation of price control measures to cut the prices of essential commodities like rice, oil, bread, cement, and fertiliser.
Knowing that importers and traders would be at the receiving end of his price control measures, Faye has, commendably, promised to subsidise the price cuts by removing all import taxes/customs duties on the affected essential commodities, to pacify importers of the collateral effect of the price control measures. This was disclosed by Senegal’s Budget Minister, Cheikh Diba.
President Tinubu’s Challenging Start in Nigeria
As a keen observer from Nigeria who has been impressed with all the steps Faye has taken within such a short time in office, it is very easy to note, with much disappointment, the sharp contrast between Faye’s inspiring start as the President of Senegal and Nigeria’s chaotic ride with President Tinubu since the latter assumed office as the President of Nigeria in May 2023.
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Unlike his counterpart in Senegal, Tinubu kicked off his tenure as Nigeria’s President on a gloomy note. On the very day of his swearing-in, Tinubu sent shivers down the spine of his countrymen by declaring in his inaugural speech that ‘fuel subsidy is gone!’ What followed after this careless declaration by the President was an unprecedented hike in the prices of commodities in the country. In less than 24 hours following his inauguration, fuel prices skyrocketed from 200 naira per litre to over 600 naira across Nigeria.
While Nigerians were still trying to grapple with the harsh reality of surviving the turmoil that greeted Tinubu’s arrival in office as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy, the latter further inflicted pains on his fellow countrymen by implementing a harsh tax regime which, coupled with the cascading value of the naira, only succeeded in tripling the prices of commodities.
It’s over a year since Tinubu assumed office as the President of Nigeria yet Nigeria remains helplessly plunged in economic crisis. Rather than admit that he and his cabinet lack the competence and commitment to revamp Nigeria’s economy, Tinubu and his praise-singing supporters have continued to force the narrative that they need all the time in the world to achieve the change Nigerians desperately crave.
Unfortunately for Tinubu and his supporters, the hope-inspiring story between President Faye and the people of Senegal has proved to Nigerians that, as an Igbo proverb says, an earthworm that will grow to become a snake is known right from the very day of its birth.
