By Segun Adediran
Dear Mr President,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing this as a concerned Nigerian. And not only as a concerned Nigerian, but as one who followed you closely during your tenure as Lagos State Governor.
You may not know me, but I have met you several times, a few of them at a very close distance. But that is not important now. What is crucial is my concern about the economic challenges facing Nigerians and your administration’s efforts in resolving them. In most of my published write-ups since May 29, 2023, when you were sworn in as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria up till now, I have consistently reiterated the fact that you, among the whole lot of Nigerian frontline politicians, dared to fix Nigeria both economically and politically. You demonstrated this courage, though wrongly, untimely and recklessly the very day you were sworn in by declaring an end to the graft-riddled fuel subsidy regime. A few months later, you also announced the floating of the national currency that was insidiously being sabotaged by arbitrage and insider abuse. You did put your political capital on the line by taking those unpopular yet necessary decisions that none of your traducers today might have taken if they had been elected president. But, please, don’t allow them to reap where they have not sown.
Let me confess to you that I was one of your darndest critics on these two policies. Not because you were wrong, but because of your administration’s lifestyle amid unchecked corruption; wastage in government; wrong priorities in spending on the National Assembly; adding planes to the bloated presidential fleet and the insensitive Villa renovation; crushing poverty; bloody violence and hunger were unconscionable and indefensible. But as you are aware, the current economic situation has led to significant hardships for many citizens, including rising costs of living, unemployment, and poverty. We are not out of the woods yet.
Mr President, please don’t be deceived by the cheerleaders who would want to paint you as the Messiah. Yes, your government has increased revenue generation, with a notable 105 per cent rise in tax revenue to N22 trillion in Q1 2025 compared to N1.09 trillion in Q1 2024. You have also reduced the fiscal deficit from 6.2 per cent in 2023 to 4.17 per cent in 2025, indicating progress in fiscal discipline.
There has also been a significant foreign investment inflow, with approximately $17 billion in foreign investment in 2024 and over $30 billion in the last 15 months. Controversially, though, several major infrastructure projects, such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway are on.
Yet, Nigerians, the middle class and the poor, are still suffering. Removal of fuel subsidies and currency unification have led to increased living costs and economic strain for these classes. The World Bank reported an increase in poverty from 40 per cent in 2018 to 46 per cent in 2023, affecting 104 million Nigerians.
On public finance, Nigeria’s public debt has risen to N144.67 trillion ($94.23 billion) in December 2024, with concerns about the impact of naira devaluation on debt repayment.
Overall, while Tinubu’s government has made progress in some areas, its policies have also had significant challenges that need to be addressed to ensure sustainable economic growth and development.
But with or without your government’s ingenuity, the economy appears to be turning the corner. Ordinary Nigerians have paid a very heavy price in navigating and braving the worst social and economic existence in recent memory. Between when you were sworn in and now can only be compared to what Nigerians went through during the gruesome civil war and the odious Sani Abacha years. I lived through both periods.
Yet, you were not entirely to be blamed. The downhill started with Goodluck Jonathan’s spineless government and crudely topped up by Muhammadu Buhari’s clannish rule. Strikingly, key figures in the two terrible administrations in Nigeria’s history are ganging up, as they say, to send you back to Lagos in 2027. Please, ask your aides to give you my opinion, Tinubu, beware of the Ides of March, published in some newspapers, including the Punch Newspaper. My point of departure is that the unholy alliance is not about salvaging Nigeria or offering a better alternative to your government’s agenda, but it’s just about sending you packing. I don’t need to mention names, but Nigerians know them. You know them too, because you are all birds of a feather.
And this is my fear. To gain undue popularity, most or all of the administration’s policies that Nigerians have suffered and paid dearly for will be reversed if they succeed in sending you back to Lagos as they boasted and threatened. ADC is not a credible alternative to your government. Indeed, just a vendetta gang up on personal, ethnic and religious primordialism.
I, therefore, urge you to consider the following recommendations to address the challenges your bitter-pill policies have created immediately. First, Mr President, fight corruption with your last breath. If you can’t do this, forget any other thing. Your government can implement policies to increase food production and improve agricultural productivity, reducing reliance on imports and stabilising food prices. Additionally, monetary policy adjustments, such as interest rate hikes, can help curb excess liquidity and reduce demand-pull inflation. Fiscal discipline, including reducing unnecessary government expenditure and subsidies, can also help mitigate inflationary pressures.
Furthermore, investing in infrastructure, particularly in transportation and storage, can help reduce costs and improve supply chains. Your administration needs to evolve policies that promote job creation, entrepreneurship, and skills development to empower young Nigerians and stimulate economic growth.
In all this, fixing the epileptic electricity supply alone requires a multi-faceted approach that addresses poor policy initiatives, inadequate gas supply, vandalism, and infrastructure challenges, while also promoting synergy among state governments and leveraging alternative power sources like solar energy to boost generation capacity and ensure reliable electricity distribution.
Nigerians are no fools. Please, treat them nicely. I believe that with bold and strategic leadership, Nigeria can overcome its economic challenges and unlock its vast potential for growth and development. I look forward to seeing the positive impact of your administration’s policies on the lives of Nigerians.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Segun Adediran
Segun Adediran, a former PUNCH Editorial Chairman, writes via olusegunadediiran@gmail.com
