The Real Terrorists Wear Agbada: Tinubu Doctrine of Economic Terrorism

By George Omagbemi Sylvester

In a nation as bruised and battered as Nigeria, silence is complicity. Since 2015, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has orchestrated one of the most disastrous chapters in our democratic history. Under the current leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the country is not just experiencing misgovernance, it is under siege by a form of political and economic terrorism perpetrated by those sworn to protect it.

This is not hyperbole. It is a data-backed, morally urgent diagnosis of Nigeria’s grim descent into state-enabled poverty, repression and collapse. The defenders and enablers of this administration, whether in government, media, religious institutions or the business elite are not innocent. They are co-conspirators in the slow suffocation of over 200 million people.

A Nation in Freefall

When the APC assumed power in 2015, Nigerians hoped for a clean break from corruption, economic decay and insecurity. Instead, what they got was worse than a broken promise; they got betrayal on a national scale.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), over 133 million Nigerians are now trapped in multidimensional poverty. This staggering figure includes lack of access to education, healthcare, clean water and decent living conditions. In less than a decade, the APC has presided over the largest expansion of poverty in Nigeria’s history.

Inflation is now at 33.69% as of April 2025, while food inflation soars at over 40%, making even basic meals unaffordable for the average family. The naira has crumbled to ₦1,500 to the dollar, leaving importers, businesses and households in economic quicksand. Meanwhile, the federal government continues to spend lavishly ₦10 billion on solar panels for the presidential villa, ₦15 billion to renovate the vice president’s residence and millions on globe-trotting trips while citizens sleep hungry.

If this is not a coordinated attack on the livelihood and dignity of Nigerians, what is?

Political Terrorism by Other Means
Terrorism is often defined as the use of violence and coercion for political purposes. But what do you call it when government policies systematically impoverish citizens, suppress dissent, rig elections, ignore rule of law and promote a culture of impunity?

Welcome to Nigeria under APC rule.

From the reckless removal of fuel subsidies without a safety net to the bungled naira redesign policy that froze the informal economy, every major policy has left behind a trail of economic destruction. These actions are not mistakes and they are calculated and the impact is nothing short of terroristic in scope and effect.

The late Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said it best:

“What is happening in Nigeria is not normal governance. It is a form of political and economic warfare against the Nigerian people.”

This war is being waged through budgets, policies/silence and it is killing more dreams than bullets ever could.

Tinubu’s Regime: A Travesty of Leadership
President Tinubu’s emergence in the 2023 election remains deeply controversial. His victory was marred by irregularities, voter suppression and delayed results. Former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, noted that the elections were “deeply flawed” and did not meet the expectations of democratic transparency.

Since taking office, Tinubu has failed to provide a coherent plan to rescue the nation. Instead, his administration has prioritized cosmetic reforms, excessive foreign trips and elite comfort. The gap between presidential promises and lived realities has widened into an abyss.

Worse still, the president’s known past remains a source of global embarrassment. In 2024, a U.S. District Court ordered the release of FBI and DEA files linked to alleged drug trafficking associations from Tinubu’s Chicago days. These revelations further erode Nigeria’s image on the global stage and deepen the moral crisis at the heart of our democracy.

Defenders of Tyranny: Collaborators in Oppression
Those who continue to defend this administration, despite overwhelming evidence of failure are not neutral. They are enablers of oppression, cheerleaders of chaos and prophets of poverty. Whether they wear agbadas in parliament, cassocks in churches, or camouflage in barracks, their silence or worse, their praise is a betrayal of the Nigerian people.

As Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, once said:

“The worst form of oppression is when the oppressed become defenders of their oppressors.”

This psychological capture is perhaps the most dangerous legacy of the APC regime. They’ve normalized suffering, glamorized theft and demonized dissent.

Corruption as Policy, Poverty as Tool
The Auditor-General’s reports between 2015 and 2023 exposed over ₦20 trillion in unaccounted government expenditure. Yet no high-profile prosecutions or convictions followed. The Tinubu government continues to reward failure with appointments and punishes accountability with persecution.

Security agencies have been weaponized. The EFCC and DSS are used not to fight corruption, but to silence whistleblowers and opposition figures. Journalists are harassed, civic spaces are shrinking, and protests are brutally suppressed. This is not governance. It is dictatorship by stealth.

The Diaspora Question: Are We Not Nigerians?
Here lies an even deeper insult: If this government can allocate ₦10 billion for solar panels and billions more for luxury projects, why can’t they pass a bill to allow diaspora voting? Why must nearly 20 million Nigerians in the diaspora doctors, engineers, scholars, entrepreneurs remain disenfranchised?

Are we not Nigerians? Do we not send home over $23 billion annually in remittances? Don’t we have the same constitutional rights as those forced to vote under duress and propaganda?

Our exclusion is deliberate. It is political. It is unjust.

It is easier for the APC to manipulate domestic voting populations than to engage a diaspora community that is educated, exposed and uncompromising. By shutting us out, they silence voices that cannot be bought or bullied.

This is not democracy. It is strategic disenfranchisement.

A Global Embarrassment
Under the APC, Nigeria’s stature has plummeted globally. Once the “Giant of Africa,” Nigeria is now mocked for its leadership dysfunction. In 2024, Transparency International ranked Nigeria 150th out of 180 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index. The World Bank’s Human Capital Index shows Nigeria near the bottom, as children suffer malnutrition and graduates flee the country in droves.

Meanwhile, the brain drain continues. Doctors, engineers, academics and everyone with a shred of hope is finding the exit door. The APC is not just losing the future, it is chasing it away.

As Prof. P.L.O. Lumumba warned:

“Any nation that entrusts criminals with leadership must prepare for the funeral of its democracy.”

A Call to Conscience
This is no longer a partisan issue. It is a humanitarian emergency. We are not dealing with bad governance; we are facing organized political and economic terrorism. And those who defend this administration are accomplices in a grand national tragedy.

They are not just misguided, they are dangerous.

If Nigeria must rise again, then this regime and its supporters must be held to account. There must be an end to this impunity. There must be a reckoning.

Let the world know: Nigerians are not silent because we agree. We are silent because we are bleeding.

And when a people bleed for too long, history teaches us that something eventually breaks.

We have reached that moment. Enough is enough.

Byline: George Omagbemi Sylvester is a political commentator, diaspora advocate and writer based in South Africa. He writes extensively on democracy, leadership and African development.