The Independent National Commission (INEC) announced Mr. Ahmed Bola Tinubu as the president elect of the just concluded general elections on March 1, 2023. Even if much controversy has been set around the legitimacy of the result, it is worth reviewing the Tinubu agenda for the economic sector of Nigeria, which will enable Nigerians to know what to expect in the next four years.
In October 2020, the newly elected president, Mr. Ahmed Bola Tinubu, released an 80-page policy document that highlights an eight-point agenda for the country as a plan to support his political ambitions. His top priorities for action plans were national security, manufacturing, agriculture, and education.
Part of the manifesto reads, “A Tinubu administration will build a Nigeria, especially for our youth, where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life. He stated that the way he hoped to achieve this was by implementing policies that will train and build capacity among Nigeria’s large and youthful population” that will enable them to offer outsourcing services just as India has done in terms of tech. His common saying is, “I will transform the so-called Yahoo Boy into a tech guru.” He also promised to embolden and support our young people and women by harnessing emerging sectors such as the digital economy, entertainment and culture, tourism, and others to build the Nigeria of tomorrow today.
In agriculture, Tinubu promises to assist farmers through an enlightened agricultural policy that promotes productivity and assures decent incomes so that farmers can support their families and feed the nation in order to promote more exports than imports and strengthen the naira.
In the manufacturing sector, Tinubu promises to create and invent more goods and services so that Nigeria shall be known as a nation of creators and also modernize and expand public infrastructure so that the rest of the economy can grow at an optimal rate.
For national security, Tinubu pointed out his agenda to establish a bold and assertive policy that will create a strong yet adaptive national security architecture and action to obliterate terror, kidnapping, banditry, and all other forms of violent extremism from the face of our nation.
While the proposed plans in Tinubu’s manifesto appear promising on paper, Nigerians want to see how these plans will be executed and their eventual impact on the Nigerian economy.
