Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has urged Nigerians to stop using the phrase “May Nigeria never happen to you.”
Speaking at The Platform event organized by Covenant Nation on Saturday, Oyedele asserted that “the worst is behind us” regarding the challenges Nigerians have faced due to Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, which have contributed to a rise in the cost of living.
“There is nothing wrong with Nigeria. But maybe there is something wrong with the people ruling Nigeria,” Oyedele remarked, drawing a comparison to the situation in America, where daily gun violence does not prompt citizens to say, “May America never happen to you.” He encouraged Nigerians to shift their mindset, suggesting, “Maybe we can turn it into, ‘May Nigeria work for me.’”
Oyedele expressed optimism about the country’s economic future, saying, “Going by available data, I personally believe that the worst is behind us. Removing subsidies is the best decision we made as a country. And we can now say that, for once, subsidy is gone.”
He explained that Nigeria had been living in a false sense of security, pointing out the discrepancies in exchange rates and fuel prices in the past.
“If you look back to about two years ago, the naira exchange rate was N450 depending on who you asked. But was our exchange rate really N450? If you wanted to buy petrol, it was under N200 per litre, but was it really under N200 per litre?” he questioned.
Highlighting the unsustainable nature of the previous economic situation, Oyedele noted that Nigeria had been using all its revenue to service debts, leaving nothing for critical areas such as salaries and security.
“Nigeria used all its revenue to service debts. We were not paying debts back; we were just servicing them. In other words, everything else we did—from paying salaries to fighting Boko Haram—was funded by borrowing,” he explained.
He went on to discuss the detrimental impact of excessive borrowing, saying Nigeria’s reliance on debt pushed the country to the brink of an economic collapse.
He also referenced the situation in Sri Lanka, where citizens faced fuel shortages, drawing a parallel to the challenges Nigeria faced due to poor fiscal management.
Further elaborating on Nigeria’s financial troubles, Oyedele mentioned the harmful effects of money printing, stating, “We printed close to N40 trillion, plus interest. And we were surprised there was inflation. Nigerians don’t realise that the invisible controls the visible. The removal of subsidies is not something you can see physically—it is not tangible.”
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