Vice President Kashim Shettima has been doing a yeoman’s job in assuring everybody of better days ahead for Nigeria under his principal, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose economic reforms have thrown Nigerians into unprecedented hardship. Shettima has undoubtedly done so, even much more than the very large media and communication team of Mr. President that appears already fatigued, in less than two years of the government.
A few days ago, the VP again assured that the current administration was on course to grow the Nigerian economy to one trillion-dollar economy within the next decade. The VP, however, emphasized that to achieve this target, sound policies, enduring partnerships and the insights of brilliant minds will serve as a driving force. He spoke through a representative in Lagos at the 2025 Conference of the Africa and Middle East Depositories Association (AMEDA), held under the theme, “Shaping the Future: Financial Markets Infrastructures as Catalysts for Transforming Economies.”
Two days before he spoke, the World Bank Group predicted an increase in Nigeria’s poverty rate by 2027, despite the country’s resource rich status. The projection is contained in the Group’s Pulse report released at the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington DC, the United States of America. The report by one of the two aforementioned Bretton Woods Institutions specifically listed Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo among the resource-rich fragile countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, housing 560 million out of the 695 million extreme poor people in the world. The report tipped poverty to increase in Nigeria by 3.6 percent over 2022 to 2027.
Without a doubt, this projection sharply contrasted with the position of the Tinubu administration that it was offering renewed hope with its economic reforms, to lift more Nigerians out of poverty. Two of Tinubu’s reforms, the announcement of fuel subsidy removal on the day of his inauguration on May 29, 2023, and the subsequent floating of the Naira, have been largely blamed for the escalation of poverty in the country. On the other hand, the poverty in Nigeria, described by World Bank as “multi-dimensional” under the last administration, is seen as a major contributor to the frightening insecurity in the country under the current administration.
Back in October last year, the World Bank agreed that the reforms undertaken by Nigeria under the Tinubu government were essential but have put the people under serious pressure, leaving half of them in abject poverty. About 129 million Nigerians, 56 percent of the estimated population of the country were living in poverty as of the time the report was released in October 2024.
As the Tinubu administration is heading towards two years in office (mid-term), members of his economic team have continued to grandstand that they were on the right track. In fact, at the same Spring Meeting in Washington DC where the World Bank predicted an increase in poverty in Nigeria by 2027, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, claimed that Nigeria is well positioned to survive amid the uncertain future facing the world. According to Edun, the reforms of the President were working and the results commendable.
Given this background, let me say my mind at this juncture. Frankly, I don’t understand why poverty is increasing, whilst the economy is growing and the reforms yielding fruits, according to the VP and President’s economic team, respectively. What is the benefit of economic growth if not the way that we can increase the standard of living in the country? One must not be an economist to know that growth in the economy of any nation should reflect in the standard of living of its people. That the economy is growing and reforms yielding results, yet the people are getting poorer and poorer by the day, is incongruous.
Nigerians don’t deserve the harsh economic conditions they are living under, because the country is richly endowed with human and material resources. Nigeria has one of the largest reserves of oil and gas in the world. The solid mineral deposits in the country are humongous. If we can harness these resources properly, I don’t see why Nigeria should be described by the World Bank as a resource-rich but fragile country.
I will not doubt the VP that the Nigerian economy would hit one trillion dollars in the next decade. After all, we know that since his boss, Mr. President removed fuel subsidy, the revenue of the country has been soaring. Before Tinubu came to power, fuel subsidy was the only thing that Nigerians benefitted from government. However, nobody has told us how much the government saved so far since it stopped paying subsidy on imported fuel.
At present, Nigerians are paying exorbitantly for fuel, almost 600 percent more than what they paid before Tinubu government came to power. The only reprieve coming the way of the beleaguered Nigerian people is from the Dangote Refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
Also, the Government has been raking in billions of Naira from the hikes in electricity and telecoms sector. Quoting the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, the total market revenue in the electricity sector from 2023 till date is about N1.7 trillion. Yet, the power generation has not improved from where the government met it in 2023.
Equally, in January this year, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) announced a 50 percent tariff hike for telecoms companies. The NCC cited prevailing economic realities in the country for the tariff hike, which portends an increase in the taxes to be paid to the Federal Government by these telecoms companies, at the expense of their Nigerian subscribers. A few days ago, the Punch reported that the Federal Government raked in N84 billion from Electronic Money Cash Transfer Levy (EMCTL) alone in three months. This figure represents a 76 percent year-on-year increase, compared to the N47.74 billion collected during the same period in 2024.
Unfortunately, the impact of all these earnings by the government has not been felt on the lives of Nigerians. Instead, more and more people are cast into poverty, while the very few in government live flamboyantly. Nobody is talking about the reduction in the cost of governance any longer. The euphoria of President Tinubu’s promise to implement the Orosanye report appears to have gone with the wind. Rather than cut cost, the government is incurring more cost. The current administration produced the highest number of Ministers in the history of Nigeria. Yet, you cannot even say the role that some of the Ministers are playing in the cabinet.
In conclusion, growing the economy to one trillion dollars, as desirous as it is, should not be the only concern of the government. How to translate the economic growth to better standard of living for Nigerians should also concern the government. Economic growth should translate to improved security, reduced inflation, improved transportation and other public services.
Other expected results of economic growth are affordable education and health services, job creation, more equipped and skilled labour force, improved road and rail infrastructure and enabling environment for industrialisation, to mention but a few.
Ctedit:The Sun