Obasanjo: Tinubu’s reforms made Every Nigerian poorer
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms including devaluation of the naira worsened poverty in Nigeria. He spoke on Wednesday at the Financial Times Africa summit 2026…
Since taking office in 2023, President Bola Tinubu has pursued a sweeping economic reform agenda anchored on removing the long-standing petrol subsidy and unifying Nigeria's multiple exchange rates, allowing the naira to float more freely against the dollar. The government has argued these measures, though painful in the short term, are necessary to unlock investment, stabilise public finances and correct decades of economic distortion. Critics, however, point to the sharp rise in fuel and transport costs, a naira that has lost significant value, and soaring food inflation as evidence that ordinary Nigerians have borne the brunt of the adjustment without commensurate relief.
Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria's former military and civilian head of state, remains an influential and outspoken voice on national economic and political affairs. His comments, delivered at the Financial Times Africa Summit 2026, add a prominent critical voice to an ongoing debate over whether Tinubu's reforms are laying the groundwork for long-term growth or simply deepening hardship. Both Daily Trust and Leadership report the remarks similarly, focusing on his claim that the naira devaluation and related policies have worsened poverty; neither account yet details the government's response or specific data Obasanjo may have cited to support his assertion.