Nigerians are hungry, but Tinubu’s reforms will bring relief – Orji Kalu

Mr Kalu said such difficulties are inevitable when a country’s government undertakes major economic reforms.

Abia North Senator, Orji Kalu, has acknowledged that Nigerians are hungry and experiencing economic hardship under President Bola Tinubu’s administration but argued that such difficulties are inevitable when a government undertakes major economic reforms.

The former Abia State governor made the remarks on Monday during an appearance on ARISE Television’s Prime Time, where he defended the administration’s economic policies and argued that the government deserved another mandate.

“People are shouting poverty. Yes, people are hungry. Even President Tinubu himself knows that things are difficult. You can’t go into reform without things going difficult,” he said.

The senator said Nigeria could not undertake fundamental economic changes without some sections of the population bearing the immediate consequences.

He argued that the reforms were necessary to move the country away from an economic structure that had persisted since independence and align it with changing global economic realities.

“Nowhere in the world, you say I want to reform the way it’s been done since 1960 to go with the anthem of the world, which is what the president is singing about,” he said.

Asked what the All Progressives Congress (APC) government had achieved to justify another mandate, Mr Kalu said the administration had stabilised the economy at the macroeconomic level.

He distinguished between macroeconomic stability and the difficulties Nigerians continued to experience in their daily lives, saying the government must now focus on translating economic reforms into growth and improved welfare.

“The APC has been able to stabilise this economy on the macro level. What we are battling now is the micro level,” he said.

The senator said the next phase should involve tackling insecurity, restoring agricultural production and expanding manufacturing to create economic opportunities.

He said farmers must be able to return to their farms without fear of attacks, urging the president and his team to intensify efforts against insurgents and bandits.

“The second thing is to present Tinubu and his team to fight for these insurgents and fight them out, so farmers can go back to farm,” he said.

Mr Kalu also identified manufacturing as an area requiring greater attention, arguing that increased access to raw materials and improved production capacity would help drive economic growth.

He said the government needed to ensure that manufacturers could operate their factories efficiently and increase production, adding that economic growth remained necessary to sustain the gains of the reforms.

Mr Kalu also acknowledged that businesses were still struggling under the prevailing economic conditions, disclosing that factories were not generating enough revenue to pay workers’ salaries.

However, he maintained that their operating conditions had improved compared with 2020.

“I’m not enjoying because factories are not producing enough money to pay salary, but the factories are better today than 2020,” he said.

He argued that the foreign exchange reforms had given businesses greater predictability, allowing manufacturers to plan their operations and estimate production costs.

According to him, businesses previously struggled to plan because of sudden fluctuations in the exchange rate, which made it difficult to determine the cost of importing raw materials and other inputs.

He also cited the stabilisation of fuel prices and foreign exchange as evidence that the administration’s policies were beginning to address longstanding economic problems.

“The light is at the end of the tunnel now because we have stabilised the fuel prices, we have stabilised the foreign exchange. You can now sit down as a manufacturer and plan,” he said.

To support his argument that economic reforms often come with hardship, Mr Kalu cited Brazil’s experience under former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

He recalled attending Mr Lula’s inauguration in 2003, saying the South American country had faced economic difficulties before the former president embarked on reforms.

He argued that reforms could produce different outcomes for different sections of society, with some experiencing hardship while others benefited.

Mr Kalu also said Nigeria had improved its international relationships under Mr Tinubu and attracted the attention of foreign investors.

He urged the administration to focus on economic growth, particularly manufacturing, to ensure that macroeconomic improvements translate into tangible benefits for citizens.