Experts Back Obasanjo, Flay Tinubu’s Reforms Causing More Poverty In Nigeria

Nigerian experts within the country and at the international arena, have joined former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to slam the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu, especially the naira devaluation that have reportedly plunged more Nigerians into poverty by 300 per cent.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo spoke on Wednesday at the Financial Times Africa summit 2026 in London, United Kingdom (UK), where he blamed President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms including devaluation of the naira, stressing that they have worsened poverty in Nigeria.

He emphasized that the sharp decline in the naira’s value had impoverished Nigerians and contributed to the country’s position as the world’s poverty capital.

He said, “We do not live in isolation as a country. We interact with the rest of the world. And overnight, you devalue the currency by 300 per cent. The naira went from N500 to a dollar to N1,500 to a dollar.

“What that meant was that every Nigerian is made poor by 300 per cent. That made Nigeria become the poverty capital of the world, which means Nigeria has the largest number of poor people in the world.

“You cannot say to me that that is good for Nigeria. You cannot say to me that that is good for us in any sense.”

During his inauguration in May 2023, Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy, a move that led to higher petrol prices and transport costs across the country. He subsequently floated the naira, arguing that it will stabilize the naira allowing it to trade more freely and collapsing the multiple exchange-rate system,

According to the Tinubu administration, the reforms were aimed at improving market efficiency, attracting foreign investment and addressing distortions in the currency market.

However, the reforms led to depreciation of the naira, rising inflation and higher cost of imported goods, putting additional pressure on households and businesses. The reforms caused rising costs of food, transportation and other essential commodities and further eroded citizens’ purchasing power.

Reacting to the statement from Obasanjo, public affairs analyst, Dr Katch Ononuju, said the former president was 100 per cent correct in his assessment and description of the Tinubu’s policy regarding the poverty which the reforms have inflicted on Nigerians in the last three years.

Although Dr Katch admitted that there was nothing inherently wrong with fuel subsidy removal and the subsequent naira devaluation, he however, noted that the policies under President Tinubu has not been transparent even as he alleged that there is no accountability as the savings from the fuel subsidy removal have allegedly been stolen by the Tinubu government.

He said, “Subsidy removal and floating the naira is good but the problem is absence of trust. We don’t know where the savings are. The savings are being stolen.”

Another intellectual and a Professor of International Relations and Directing Staff , National Institute of Security Studies, Prof Mukthar Imam, told LEADERSHIP that Nigeria’s current economic reality does not warrant devaluation.

He said, “We don’t need devaluation because our purchasing power parity is not significant. We have devalued the currency in this country about 14 times before and failed because we have not put mechanisms in place to address the matter.”

He added that apart from headline inflation, Nigeria also has food inflation, which he described as “double -edge inflation.”

He pointed out that countries embark on devaluation when they are producing more goods through manufacturing to sell to the world, stressing that Nigeria does not have adequate production capacity and therefore does not need to devalue its currency.

He alleged that the Tinubu administration is just playing the script of the international Financial Institutions in order to curry their favour, otherwise it does not make any economic sense to devalue the currency at this time.

Another expert in international finance, who preferred anonymity, described the devaluation as devastating on the citizens because it has reduced the purchasing power of citizens, who now experience a decline in real wages and living standards, making food and other essential items very costly.

He added that the devaluation has reduced investors’ confidence causing them to pull money out of the system as companies move away from the country leading to increased joblessness in the country.