President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, May 29, 2026, marked his third-year in office as the number one citizen of Nigeria. In an address to fellow compatriots, Tinubu reeled out his achievements as well as the challenges his administration has faced and is still facing governing Nigeria. When his government came on board three years ago, Nigeria, he noted, faced profound economic and structural difficulties. These included mounting fiscal pressures, unsustainable fuel subsidy regime, declining revenues, exchange-rate distortions, rising debt-servicing costs, insecurity in several parts of the country, energy supply constraints, as well as declining public confidence in several public institutions.
“At the height of the subsidy regime, Nigeria was spending as much as ₦18.4 billion daily to sustain petrol subsidies. Over ₦4 trillion was spent in 2022 alone. These resources could have been invested in roads, healthcare, education, housing, and other critical infrastructure. Multiple exchange rate windows and forex arbitrage created massive distortions, with Nigeria losing more than ₦8 trillion over three years to rent-seeking and speculative practices”, he noted.
On his first day in office, the situation, he added, demanded urgent and courageous action. Difficult but necessary decisions had to be taken to stabilise the economy and prevent a deeper national crisis. “The easy choices would have been politically convenient, but leadership demands courage, especially when the right decisions are difficult.”
At the Eagle Square, venue of his inauguration, in a moment that would define his presidency more than he perhaps intended, President Tinubu, trashing any preamble, declared that fuel subsidy was gone. What shocked Nigerians following his declaration was that there were no cushioning effect measures. Just like that. Subsidy is gone. Those four words would cascade into one of the most consequential and painful economic ruptures in Nigeria’s post-military history. He was right that the subsidy had to go. Where his administration fell woefully short was in managing what came after.
For decades, fuel subsidy had drained public finances while failing to deliver sustainable economic benefits. The subsidy regime disproportionately benefited a narrow class of middlemen and wealthy consumers rather than ordinary Nigerians. By abolishing the subsidy, the Tinubu administration freed substantial fiscal resources that could be redirected toward infrastructure, social investment, and economic development.
Closely connected to this was the unification of the foreign exchange market. Before 2023, Nigeria operated a deeply distorted exchange rate system characterized by multiple windows and significant disparities between official and parallel market rates. This encouraged speculation, round-tripping, capital flight, and severe inefficiencies in foreign exchange allocation. The unification policy restored greater transparency and reduced opportunities for arbitrage.
The administration also oversaw the successful recapitalization of the Nigerian banking sector, another major reform with long-term implications for economic growth and financial stability. Banks were required to significantly increase their capital base, with international banks mandated to raise minimum capital thresholds to N500bn. Thirty-three banks (out of 36) successfully complied before the March 31 2026 deadline, increasing aggregate banking sector capital by over 60 percent. This exercise strengthened the resilience of the financial system, improved investor confidence, and positioned Nigerian banks to finance the large-scale infrastructure and industrial projects required for long-term economic transformation.
The increase in Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursements to States and Local Governments since 2023 has also significantly improved subnational fiscal capacity. Monthly FAAC allocations have reportedly risen by an average of about 45 percent largely due to subsidy removal, improved revenue collection, and reforms within the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. Consequently, many states have been able to clear salary arrears, settle longstanding contractor debts, and reduce domestic debt burdens. The increased fiscal space gives subnational governments greater responsibility to invest aggressively in agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare, education, industrialization, and youth employment programmes.
The Supreme Court judgment which gave Local Government financial autonomy ended a long-running parasitic arrangement whereby Governors treated federal allocations meant for Nigeria’s 774 LGAs as personal slush funds. The resolution of the OPL 245 dispute over one of Africa’s richest oil blocks, frozen for decades by litigation and diplomatic embarrassment, cleared the path for an additional 150,000 barrels per day in production capacity.
The student loan programme under NELFUND, irrespective of its current implementation gaps, represents a first institutional attempt to keep low-income students in tertiary institutions rather than watch them drop out quietly and without recourse. These are real gains, and they deserve fair acknowledgment before any reckoning.
In the petroleum sector, the administration has pursued reforms aimed at improving transparency and efficiency within the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. The overhaul of NNPCL’s management and the implementation of Executive Order 09, which mandates direct remittance of crude oil revenues directly into the Federation Account, represent significant governance reforms. NNPCL’s contributions to FAAC reportedly increased by over 300 percent following these changes, ending an era where the national oil company was often criticized as a fiscal burden rather than a revenue-generating institution.
The administration has also pursued ambitious infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway. These projects, if successfully completed, could significantly improve national connectivity, logistics efficiency, trade integration, and economic productivity. Infrastructure development remains one of the strongest catalysts for long-term growth, industrialization, and employment generation. Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit remains enormous, spanning roads, rail, power, healthcare, irrigation, ports, and digital infrastructure. The government’s willingness to borrow concessionally for productive infrastructure therefore reflects an understanding that development cannot occur without large-scale capital investment.
However, the gains of macroeconomic stabilization have not yet translated sufficiently into broad-based improvements in living standards. Although Tinubu formally declared poverty a national emergency, nothing much has been achieved in that regard.
This reality becomes clear when examining the challenge of unemployment and poverty, particularly among young Nigerians. Youth unemployment remains one of the greatest threats to Nigeria’s social stability and future development. With over 70 percent of the population below the age of thirty-five, the country’s long-term prosperity depends largely on whether it can productively engage the energy, creativity, and entrepreneurial capacity of its youths.
To its credit, the Tinubu administration has introduced several initiatives aimed at expanding youth opportunities. The three-million Technical Talent Programme represents one of the most strategic interventions in Nigeria’s digital economy. By equipping young Nigerians with skills in software development, data analysis, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and digital marketing, the programme recognizes that the future global economy will increasingly be driven by technology and knowledge-based industries. Millions of Nigerian youths possess the talent to compete globally if provided with the right training, infrastructure, and digital access.
However, the success recorded so far has not translated into improved economic conditions for the masses. More than three-quarters of Nigerians are living in multi-dimensional poverty. Many are so poor that they are simply surviving rather than living. Tinubu himself alluded to the harsh economic condition of the poor when he, albeit jokingly, said that he too has lost weight like the suffering.
However, such a joke at this point in time does not bode well with many Nigerians, who feel that his reforms should have a human face. In fact, any reform that does not improve the living conditions of the masses needs to be reviewed. The people cannot continue to endure hardship while a few, particularly those close to the corridors of power, continue to enjoy.
Most Nigerians are daily losing hope that anything meaningful can come out of the Tinubu government. While we agree that most of the reforms – particularly the fuel subsidy removal and the unification of the dual exchange rates – as operated under the late Muhammadu Buhari’s regime messed up the economy, those policies should have been well thought-out with cushioning effects in place before implementation.
Another sore point in the minds of most Nigerians is the worsening security situation across the country. It has been over two weeks since scores of teachers and pupils in Oyo and Borno States have been in kidnapper’s den with Nigerian security agencies seemingly helpless in their rescue. Ragtag criminal of less than 20 people are holding the whole nation to ransom, murdering a classroom teacher in cold blood, and threatening to kill more if their demands are not met. Those demands have been made known to Seyi Makinde, the Governor of Oyo State, who seems to be completely clueless about what to do. Those in the military high command also seem helpless and life goes on in desolation for many.
It is sad that amongst the kidnapped victims is an 18-month-old baby. Several underage victims have been recorded being tortured by the mindless charlatans, yet many families slaughter rams and cows to celebrate the Eid al-Adha, and President Tinubu can sleep comfortably at night while several of our compatriots are in the bushes, exposed to the elements with little or no food or shelter.
Due to the fast-approaching elections, our politicians are busy conducting sham primaries elections to pick candidates for various offices while the fate of our school children and their teachers is relegated to the background. They should be reminded that the security situation in the country would play a major role in determining who leads the country from May 29 next year. Leaders who cannot protect the lives and property of their citizens have no business in governance. Many Nigerians can no longer drive from one state to another without being apprehensive of what lies ahead due to the fear of kidnapping.
Going to the farm to plant food and cash crops have become herculean tasks with the fear of bandits on the minds of most farmers. The roads are not safe, farming is threatened, going to school for learning is also a dangerous venture due to the fear of kidnappers, yet we say that we have a country. Even if you stay within the four walls of your home, you can still be picked by terrorists who now seem to be more powerful than the State.
Now is the time for President Tinubu to redouble his efforts in tackling the worsening security situation in the country. His three years in office has not had any meaningful impact on the lives of most Nigerians, despite his ‘glowing reforms’. He still has the opportunity to turn the tide if he has the political will and gives his reforms a human face.
See you next week.
