Afenifere Replies President Tinubu: Nigeria Sitting On Gunpowder Keg; Your Policies Are Anti-People, Ill-Timed
Tinubu, while receiving a delegation of former National Assembly colleagues from the aborted Third Republic, where he served as a Senator representing Lagos West, had defended his government’s economic decisions.
Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has strongly reacted to President Bola Tinubu’s recent statement that Nigeria would have faced bankruptcy if not for the economic reforms implemented by his administration.
Tinubu, while receiving a delegation of former National Assembly colleagues from the aborted Third Republic, where he served as a Senator representing Lagos West, had defended his government’s economic decisions.
“For 50 years, Nigeria was spending money of generations yet unborn and servicing the West coast of our subregion with fuel. It was getting difficult to plan for our children’s future,” the President stated.
He added, “We faced serious headwinds when I took over, very challenging times. Nigeria would have been bankrupt if we had not taken the actions that we took, and we had to prevent the economy’s collapse.”
However, in a swift response, Afenifere, through its Publicity Secretary, Prince Justice Faloye, dismissed the President’s assertion, insisting that the economic crisis was self-inflicted due to missteps by the administration.
The group criticised the removal of fuel subsidies before the operationalisation of the Dangote Refinery, a move they argued contradicted Tinubu’s campaign promises.
The faction of Afenifere loyal to HRH Oba Oladipo Olaitan, who took over leadership after the passing of Pa Ayo Adebanjo, has consistently opposed the fuel subsidy removal and the floating of the naira.
According to the group, these policies have exacerbated inflation and economic hardship in the country.
Afenifere cautioned that the worsening economic situation was not a political issue but a matter of national survival.
“The political class must realise that we are sitting on a gunpowder keg that will explode when the poor can’t take it any longer. A stitch in time saves nine,” the group warned.
Faloye further criticised the timing of Tinubu’s policies, arguing that floating the naira while the country was still importing fuel — constituting a significant portion of Nigeria’s import bill — was a grave mistake.
“These two ill-timed policies have cost millions their lives and livelihoods, so inflation rates, and not food prices decreasing, is medicine after death caused by criminal negligence of the government,” he stated.
Afenifere linked the nation’s prolonged economic decline to past subsidy removals, arguing that they have progressively driven Nigerians into poverty, with the worst effects now being felt under Tinubu’s government.
“The problem has been anti-people economic policies. We are nowhere near El Dorado than we were in 1978 when education subsidies were removed, and he has placed our education on student loans,” Faloye noted.
He also argued that fuel prices and other import costs could decrease if the funds saved from subsidy removal were injected into the foreign exchange market, as was done in January with an $8billion intervention.
However, he lamented that the hasty removal of subsidies may have permanently damaged the economy.
Afenifere criticised the government’s lack of a concrete plan to improve Nigerians’ living standards, stating that the administration remains “ideologically clueless on how to stimulate our consumer nor producer markets to create wealth.”
As an example, the group highlighted the severe housing crisis in Nigeria.
“Houses are the root of the consumer markets, the ultimate good for the consumer. Unfortunately, Nigeria has twenty million homeless people, the most in the world, yet only 20,000 houses were budgeted for in the 2025 budget.
“At this rate, it will take 1000 years to resolve our homelessness problem, assuming there is no increase in population.”
Afenifere called on the government to take urgent action, recommending a more aggressive approach similar to China and India, suggesting a target of at least 10,000 homes daily to address the crisis effectively.
As economic challenges continue to mount, the group’s warnings reflect growing discontent with the government’s handling of key economic policies, signalling a potential flashpoint in the nation’s political and economic discourse.
