As of Monday, February 9, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has spent 2 years, 8 months and 11 days in office, having been sworn in on May 29, 2023. That amounts to 981 days so far, with roughly 474 days left before the end of his four-year term on May 29, 2027.
With less than a year and a half to go, a legitimate question confronts Nigerians: is President Tinubu saving his best performance for the final stretch, or are the outcomes of the past three years a fair indicator of what lies ahead?
Tinubu’s presidency began with one of the most consequential policy decisions in recent history — the removal of fuel subsidy on inauguration day. Petrol prices jumped almost overnight from about ₦187 per litre to over ₦1,200. The ripple effects were immediate and severe: higher transportation costs, rising food prices, deepening inflation, and increased pressure on households already struggling to survive.
By the time the administration clocked 100 days in September 2023, public dissatisfaction was already widespread. Many Nigerians rated the government’s performance poorly, with some arguing that it fared worse than that of former president Muhammadu Buhari. Supporters of the administration countered that 100 days was too early for judgment. That argument was repeated at the one-year mark: the president still had three years.
Now, Nigeria is firmly in the final lap of the administration, and the country is entering the season that precedes another general election. At this stage, it is reasonable to assess performance not by promises or intentions, but by outcomes.
One aspect of Tinubu’s presidency that has attracted sustained public attention is his frequent foreign travel. Since assuming office, the president has reportedly spent about 245 days abroad. In January 2026 alone, he was outside the country for over three weeks, even as insecurity, economic hardship and social tension persisted at home.
The presidency has defended these trips as necessary to attract investment and project Nigeria positively to the world. Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, has described Tinubu as Nigeria’s “chief marketer”, citing engagements such as discussions with Siemens on power sector reform.
Yet critics argue that the promised dividends of these investment drives remain largely invisible to ordinary Nigerians. Activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore has publicly challenged the administration’s supporters to point to a single major foreign investment directly traceable to these trips — a challenge that continues to resonate in public discourse.
Beyond optics and travel, however, Nigerians are far more concerned about fundamentals. Insecurity remains pervasive. Banditry and terrorism have not been decisively curtailed and have spread into new areas, including parts of Kwara State. The primary duty of any government is the protection of lives and property, and on this front, many citizens feel the administration has fallen short.
Another major problem Nigerians want Tinubu to solve is the perennial power outage in the country. It is so shameful that in 2026, Nigeria, the giant of Africa, is still battling with no electricity, something that other countries in Africa take for granted. In fact, during the 2023 electioneering campaign, Tinubu vowed that “if I don’t give you constant electricity within 4 years, don’t vote for me when I come back for a second term”.
So, on what premise are the president’s supporters campaigning for him to return? When the question was put to Daniel Bwala, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, he responded, “No, what he (Tinubu) said is a statement of intent that is backed up by a commitment to make it happen. When you have such commitment, the next thing is to put it to work, which is what he has been doing.” Yet, the same Bwala once said that even if you give Tinubu 30 years, nothing will work. What guarantee do Nigerians have that if Tinubu is given another four years, he will address these problems? Now that he has failed to fix electricity and we are now in election season, should we vote for Tinubu if he asks for a second term?
Economic messaging from within the government has also been contradictory. Senator Adams Oshiomhole recently suggested that food prices were becoming cheaper all over the country, while Senate President Godswill Akpabio warned shortly after of escalating food costs and the threat of hunger. These conflicting narratives from leaders of the same ruling party highlight a deeper problem: a disconnect between official optimism and lived reality.
Nigeria’s challenges are complex, but they demand focus. A government that decisively fixes one major problem — electricity, for example — would unlock progress across multiple sectors. Scattergun policies, coupled with questionable appointments, risk spreading capacity too thin and achieving too little.
President Tinubu may genuinely desire progress for Nigeria, but he increasingly appears overwhelmed by the scale of the country’s problems. Age and capacity are sensitive issues, but they matter in governance. Unlike Buhari, who openly acknowledged the limits imposed by age, Tinubu has not addressed these concerns directly.
As Nigerians look ahead, the central issue is not whether the president intends to do better, but whether there is credible evidence that he can. Governance is ultimately judged by results, not reassurances. With time running out, the burden is on President Tinubu to show — not merely promise — that renewed hope is still attainable.
With less than 500 days left, Nigerians are entitled to judge this administration not by explanations, but by evidence. Time is the one resource a sitting president can never reclaim, and much of it has already been spent. If the Tinubu administration intends to alter its legacy, it must do so urgently and decisively, not rhetorically. The coming months will determine whether this presidency is remembered as one that confronted Nigeria’s deepest problems or one that postponed them until history delivered its verdict.
Despite the frustrations and unmet expectations, the final stretch of this administration still offers a narrow window for course correction. Nigerians are not demanding miracles; they are asking for sincerity, focus, and visible progress on issues that affect daily survival. Should the president choose to prioritise results over rhetoric and governance over optics, even modest gains could restore some measure of public confidence. But that opportunity will not last forever, and the judgment of history — and the electorate — will be shaped by what is done, or left undone, in these remaining days.
Akinsuyi, former group politics editor of the Daily Independent, writes from Abuja. He can be reached at shabydayo@gmail.com.
