Tinubu’s reforms are largely driven by the overall interest of the people, argues
DAN AIBANGBE
Every nation faces pivotal historical moments that demand uncompromising courage and visionary statesmanship over short term political convenience. For Nigeria, that defining moment arrived with the inauguration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023. Inheriting an economy tethered to the brink of insolvency, President Tinubu chose the difficult, high-road path of structural reform rather than kicking the debt-ridden can further down the road.
Leadership is not about administering comforting placebos to a sick nation; it is about diagnosing the structural decay and administering the requisite treatment to restore permanent health.
President Tinubu has demonstrated the political fortitude, strategic clarity, and unwavering commitment necessary to rebuild Nigeria’s economic foundations, making a compelling case why he deserves a second term to complete the transformation.
At the center of President Tinubu’s bold agenda was the decisive dismantling of the petrol subsidy. For decades, fuel subsidy existed as a grotesque economic phenomenon, a massive fiscal hemorrhaging disguised as social welfare. It was a primary engine of corruption, a money-spinning enterprise for a well-entrenched elite, and a multi-trillion naira drain that systematically starved critical national infrastructure, health, and education of vital capital. Year after year, public funds were diverted to subsidize consumption while schools deteriorated and roads crumbled. Worse still, millions of liters of subsidized petrol were routinely smuggled across international borders to enrich syndicates, effectively subsidizing neighboring economies at the expense of the Nigerian taxpayer.
Removing this unsustainable drain was a painful but necessary birth pang designed to rescue Nigeria from impending fiscal ruin. It was the therapy required to check border smuggling, eliminate systemic market distortions, and stop the reckless misallocation of national wealth.
The direct result of this reform is already visible across the federation. Revenue allocations shared through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) have surged to record highs. States that previously struggled or failed to pay civil servants’ salaries for months now receive vastly expanded monthly allocations. Today, governors have the financial room to clear salary backlogs, service pensions, and fund local initiatives without resorting to crippling commercial loans. While the remaining challenge lies in ensuring an effective oversight monitoring of state governors to guarantee these expanded revenues trickle down to the grassroots, the structural bottleneck at the federal level has been decisively broken.
Parallel to fiscal reform was the long-overdue unification and floating of the Naira exchange rate. The former multi-tiered foreign exchange system had created a speculative paradise for arbitragers, where privileged individuals obtained cheap official foreign currency and sold at exorbitant parallel market rates. Floating the exchange rate dismantled this rent-seeking pipeline. While the transition triggered initial volatility, the policy was fundamentally designed to re-establish foreign investor confidence, eliminate black market exploitation, and anchor foreign exchange management on genuine market supply and demand. As macro-economic stability gains traction, foreign investment refturns, and supply bottlenecks clear, market forces are beginning to stabilize prices across key consumer sectors.
These rather tough choices were never meant to punish Nigerians; they were carefully engineered to rescue the nation after years of disastrous, unsustainable economic policies.
Global history demonstrates that deep economic reforms, though initially met with fierce public backlash, frequently pave the way for long-term prosperity.
In 1991, India was burdened by heavy state subsidies and strict foreign controls. Prime Minister Narasimha Rao sharply cut subsidies and opened state-dominated sectors to private and foreign investment, transforming the country from a stagnant economy into one of the world’s fastest-growing major markets.
Similarly, Indonesia spent decades draining its national budget on artificial fuel subsidies until reforms in 2014 repeatedly pushed through steep unpopular price hikes, reallocating all the savings into targeted cash transfers for poor households, universal healthcare, and nationwide infrastructure that built thousands of kilometers of roads and power plants while solidifying Indonesia as Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
In late 2016, Egypt faced severe foreign currency shortages, a rampant black market, and heavy budget deficits, leading President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to fully float the Egyptian pound, causing an immediate devaluation of over 50% and phase out energy subsidies; despite an immediate inflation spike. These bold moves restored investor confidence, built record foreign exchange reserves, and drove some of the country’s highest growth rates in a decade. Currently, Egypt ranks second among Africa’s top five economies by nominal GDP estimated at $430 billion.
Ghana navigated a similar path in 2005 when President John Kufuor tackled hyperinflation, mounting debt, a collapsing cedi, and regressive fuel subsidies by deregulating the petroleum sector, raising pump prices by over 50%, unifying financial controls, and floating the exchange rate, which ultimately stabilized the macroeconomy, slashed debt, reduced inflation, and elevated Ghana to middle-income status through sustained growth.
Beyond macroeconomic restructuring, President Tinubu’s administration has consistently prioritized human capital development and social investment. A landmark proof of this social vision is the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). For generations, thousands of brilliant Nigerian youths were forced to abandon tertiary education due to financial distress. Through NELFUND, President Tinubu has provided accessible, interest-free loans to thousands of students across the country. This initiative has democratized access to higher education, providing real social mobility and bringing tangible relief to struggling parents.
In addition to expanding educational access, the administration has rolled out targeted consumer credit schemes, agricultural input supports to enhance food security, and expanded social welfare cash transfers directed at vulnerable households. Across the nation, major national transport corridors and abandoned infrastructure projects are being aggressively completed. The administration has also prioritized national security, giving the armed forces updated logistics, air assets, and strategic support to suppress banditry and restore stability to farming communities.
President Tinubu has always been driven by a single-minded vision: a Nigeria where every citizen enjoys equal opportunity, economic security, and a high quality of life. He did not seek power for the sake of office, but to build a lasting legacy that future generations can be proud of and build upon. Real structural reform requires time for the seeds planted during tough seasons to yield their full harvest.
Aibangbe is a Media & Public Relations Consultant
