Tinubu’s Two Years of Policy Illusions and National Suffering: Nigeria’s Descent into Economic and Moral Chaos.

By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com

When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, many Nigerians hoped for a departure from the stagnation and decay that had plagued the country under successive administrations. He came promising “renewed hope.” What we have received, instead, is an unrelenting wave of economic brutality, elite arrogance and state-sanctioned impoverishment. Two years down the line, Nigeria stands not rejuvenated, but ravaged; its middle class wiped out, its poor suffocating and its leaders more obsessed with politicking than governance.

A Mirage of Policy Success
To be fair, on paper, President Tinubu has achieved a few major policy reforms:

Tax Law Reforms were introduced to improve revenue generation.

Fuel Subsidy Removal was executed within days of his inauguration.

Electricity was devolved to the states, theoretically giving them power over power.

The foreign exchange system was liberalised, floating the naira to end multiple exchange rates.

A Student Loan Act was passed to assist struggling tertiary students.

Local Government Autonomy was proposed but remains conveniently unimplemented.

These are bold moves, but boldness without wisdom is recklessness. Vision without empathy is tyranny. And policy without proper execution becomes poison. The Tinubu administration may be flying from a policy perspective, but it is flying blind and the PEOPLE are the ones CRASHING.

The Fallout: A Catalogue of Pain
Let us evaluate the real-life impact of these so-called reforms.

1. Death of the Middle Class
The once-thriving Nigerian middle CLASS (the teachers, civil servants, small business owners and professionals) has been completely decimated. Inflation, which stood at 21.9% in May 2023, now hovers above 34% as of June 2025 (according to the National Bureau of Statistics). Food prices have tripled. Transportation is unaffordable. School fees have skyrocketed. A bag of rice now sells for over ₦85,000. People no longer talk of saving; survival is now the priority.

2. Currency Collapse and Soaring Inflation
Floating the naira without adequate safeguards was akin to throwing a drowning man into deeper waters. The naira has become Africa’s worst-performing currency, exchanging at ₦1,560 to $1 as of June 2025. This is the lowest in Nigerian history. Importers can’t access forex. Businesses are closing. Foreign investors are fleeing. This is not liberalisation; it is economic euthanasia.

“You don’t float a currency in an import-dependent economy without first boosting domestic productivity,” said Professor Uche Uwaleke, a financial economist at Nasarawa State University. “What we’re seeing is textbook mismanagement.”

3. Fuel Subsidy Removal: A Punishment to the Poor
The removal of fuel subsidy, while economically justified in theory, was implemented without any cushioning measures. The result? Petrol now sells between ₦850 and ₦980 per litre, depending on the state. The cost of transportation has doubled. Food distribution costs have tripled. Meanwhile, the elite fly around in private jets funded by government largesse.

4. Civil Servants in Poverty
Civil servants, once seen as modest pillars of public administration are now objects of mockery. The minimum wage remains ₦30,000 in about 20 states which is equivalent to less than $20 monthly. How do you expect a family to survive on this in a country where rent in major cities starts at ₦800,000 per year for a single room?

5. Insecurity and Social Collapse
The bold promises to tackle insecurity have remained empty rhetoric. Bandits, terrorists and kidnappers continue to run wild. Farmers can’t access their lands. Students are kidnapped en masse. Communities are deserted. The state has abandoned its primary duty: protecting lives and property.

6. Student Loans: An Empty Shell
The student loan policy was announced with fanfare, but months later, implementation remains a mirage. The bureaucracy is confusing, the criteria are harsh and public universities are still underfunded. The average student has seen no relief.

7. Housing and Rent: Dreams Turned Nightmare
The housing deficit in Nigeria exceeds 28 million units, according to the Federal Mortgage Bank. Under Tinubu, nothing has changed. No new social housing schemes have been successfully executed. Rent continues to skyrocket. Owning a home is a forgotten dream for millions.

“In Nigeria today, leisure is a crime and survival is an achievement,” says activist Aisha Yesufu. “We are witnessing a systematic dismantling of hope.”

State Governments: Rascality with Increased Revenue
With the removal of subsidy and naira floatation, state allocations have significantly increased. Yet, what have the governors done with the money? Roads are death traps. Schools are glorified poultry sheds. Hospitals lack paracetamol. The same states collecting billions from Abuja still owe months of salary arrears. The rot is not just national, but systemic.

A Government of Leisure, Lies and Lavishness
While Nigerians suffer, our leaders vacation. The president has spent more days abroad than on the ground with the people. Ministers take selfies in Rome and Dubai, while children starve in Borno. Governance has become an illusion wrapped in press statements and sponsored media narratives.

“There is no nation on earth that treats its citizens with such contempt and survives intact,” notes Dr. Chidi Odinkalu, former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission.

What Hope for 2027?
With two more years to go and the looming horror of a 2027 election engineered through political “ABRACADABRA”, Nigerians are right to be scared. The electoral system is broken. INEC’s credibility is in tatters. If this government gets another term, it may mark the end of any democratic pretense in Nigeria.

Final Thoughts
Nigeria under Bola Tinubu is not being governed; it is being experimented on. The people are not citizens; they are test subjects. The economy is not being revived; it is being bled. And the future is not being prepared for; it is being plundered.

Let it be known that policy success without human impact is failure. You don’t pat a government on the back for reforms that destroy lives. A nation where leisure is a luxury, dignity is a relic and honesty is a punishment, cannot thrive.

The only question now is: WILL NIGERIANS RISE TO RESCUE THEMSELVES or will we CONTINUE DANCING to the DIRGE of our DESTRUCTION?

By George Omagbemi Sylvester
Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com