Onanuga: Nigerians Will Soon See Relief as Tinubu’s Reforms Take Hold

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has expressed optimism that the cost of living in Nigeria will soon decrease as the administration’s economic reforms begin to yield tangible results.

In a conversation with journalists in Lagos on Sunday, Onanuga stated that the impact of the President’s initiatives would soon be felt across the country, noting that Tinubu had already implemented policies that directly confront long-standing issues.

“The President’s years in office began with clear policy directions and implementation. A lot of reforms have taken place across sectors. The President has laid down many fundamentals that would ensure growth,” he said.

He argued that two years is not enough to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the administration’s policies, explaining that experts typically assess such reforms over a much longer timeframe.

Onanuga noted that, despite the challenges faced before the removal of fuel subsidies, significant progress has been made. “There was no fuel. Many stations were saying no fuel, no fuel. What was happening at that time was that the NNPC had reached the bottom point. It had no money to import fuel, it claimed that it was owing suppliers about six billion dollars and the government was owing it about four trillion dollars. So, it could not import any more,” he recounted.

Read also: Two Years of Tinubu: Are Nigerians Better Off? A Critical Analysis

Addressing questions about Nigeria’s borrowing, Onanuga emphasized that borrowing is a normal practice worldwide, even for countries with strong economies like the United States.

“Nigeria has abundant resources that we are harnessing, but not as much readily available money as people might think,” he said, explaining that the funds were channeled into vital projects rather than wasted.

He mentioned large-scale infrastructure projects such as coastal roads as examples of responsible borrowing. Onanuga further explained the rationale behind the government’s tough decisions, adding that many of the road projects underway were not initially part of the national budget.

On the issue of currency devaluation, Onanuga pointed out that it’s an economic reality faced by other nations as well. “Even UK and the US at some point devalued. These are economic principles that are universal and cannot be changed because it is Nigeria,” he said.

Highlighting the positive outcomes of these reforms, Onanuga shared that several companies previously facing difficulties have since adapted, shifted to local sourcing, and are now reporting improved financial results. “This economy has opened up opportunities in many forms for Nigerians. Those who can really exploit it. And they are making money,” he said, citing individuals who are profiting from exporting local goods such as cocoa and Zobo.

Onanuga insisted that these positive economic changes would soon become obvious to all Nigerians. “We don’t do our people any good when we keep on pushing stories of gloom and doom without allowing them to see the truth, without allowing them to see the context, and without allowing them to know that there’s actually light at the end of the tunnel,” he concluded.