For decades, Nigeria’s two most important institutions—the NNPC and the CBN—were reduced from assets to liabilities.
The NNPC was busy subsidizing petrol, while the CBN was subsidizing dollars. Together, they dragged the nation into an economic black hole. Instead of strengthening the country, they crippled it.
Nigeria reached a point where it had to borrow money to pay salaries, even while dipping into its dwindling foreign reserves. The absurdity didn’t stop there—NNPC paid fuel subsidies to the extent that it claimed Nigeria owed it, rather than remitting funds to the federation. Eventually, the country resorted to borrowing from the IMF just to settle subsidy debts with its own national oil company. Nigeria was on the brink of an irreversible crash.
The Turning Point
On May 29th, 2023, during his inauguration, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made a move that generations of leaders before him had feared. His official speechwriters deliberately avoided including subsidy removal in his prepared remarks. After all, Nigeria had seen military generals, powerful politicians, and influential figures from every zone—none dared to touch the subsidy monster.
But Tinubu recognized the emptiness of a speech without bold economic direction. He understood that once he left Eagle Square for the Villa, he would be surrounded by fuel importers and foreign exchange manipulators—the very forces that had strangled Nigeria’s economy for decades. That would have been the end.
So, in a historic deviation from his prepared script, Tinubu thundered from Eagle Square:
“Subsidy is gone!”
“There will be unification of FX!”
More Than Politics
That wasn’t just Tinubu the politician speaking—it was Tinubu the Leader, Jagaban himself, taking on Nigeria’s economic cancer from day one. With those words, he reset the trajectory of the nation, tackling the double subsidy trap that had nearly bankrupted the country.
History will remember that moment—not as a political gamble, but as an act of leadership and courage where others had faltered.
About The Author
