Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms have contributed to the sharp devaluation of the naira and worsened poverty in Nigeria.
Speaking on Wednesday at the Financial Times Africa summit
2026 in London, United Kingdom (UK), Obasanjo said the sharp decline in the
naira’s value had impoverished Nigerians and contributed to the country’s
position as the world’s poverty capital.
“We do not live in isolation as a country. We interact with
the rest of the world. And overnight, you devalue the currency by 300 percent.
The naira went from N500 to a dollar to N1,500 to a dollar,” Obasanjo said.
“What that meant was that every Nigerian is made poor by 300
percent. That made Nigeria become the poverty capital of the world, which means
Nigeria has the largest number of poor people in the world.
“You cannot say to me that that is good for Nigeria. You
cannot say to me that that is good for us in any sense.”
BACK STORY
In May 2023, Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol
subsidy, a move that led to higher petrol prices and transport costs across the
country.
In June 2023, his administration initiated foreign exchange
reforms, allowing the naira to trade more freely and collapsing the multiple
exchange-rate system.
The reforms were aimed at improving market efficiency,
attracting foreign investment and addressing distortions in the currency
market.
However, the reforms coincided with a sharp depreciation of
the naira, rising inflation and higher cost of imported goods, putting
additional pressure on households and businesses.
Rising cost of food, transportation and other essential
commodities further eroded Nigerians’ purchasing power.
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