Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says he sees no sign that Nigeria’s economy is improving under President Bola Tinubu.
He also rejected the argument that Tinubu needs a second term to complete his economic policies, saying those policies have made Nigerians poorer.
Obasanjo spoke on Wednesday at the Financial Times Africa Summit 2026 in London. He criticised the government’s handling of the naira devaluation and the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Obasanjo, 89, led Nigeria as military head of state from 1976 to 1979 and as elected president from 1999 to 2007.
Naira Devaluation and Poverty
Obasanjo said the sharp fall in the naira cut the buying power of Nigerians and pushed the country to the top of global poverty rankings.
“We do not live in isolation as a country. We interact with the rest of the world. And overnight, you devalue the currency by 300 percent. The naira went from ₦500 to a dollar to ₦1,500 to a dollar,” he said.
“What that meant was that every Nigerian is made poor by 300 percent. That made Nigeria to become the poverty capital of the world, which means Nigeria has the largest number of poor people in the world. You cannot say to me that that is good for Nigeria. You cannot say to me that that is good for us in any sense,” he added.
On the petrol subsidy, he argued that corruption made up a large share of the cost.
“Now, what we call subsidy for petroleum products in Nigeria, a lot of it is corruption. And I believe that if we pay attention to corruption and deal with corruption, then what will remain of subsidy will be very little,” he said.
Second Term Question
When asked whether Tinubu deserved a second term to complete his policies, Obasanjo pushed back.
“What policies are you seeing through? You impoverish your people and you want to see impoverishment through? What are you seeing through?” he asked.
He compared Nigeria with Ghana, where the cedi moved from 16 to the dollar to 10 within six months under the current president.
"You can see the difference. What do you say to that?” he said. He added that Ghanaian cocoa farmers asked their president to slow the currency’s rise because their export earnings were falling.
On whether he would back Tinubu in 2027, Obasanjo said his criticism targets the government’s economic programmes, not the president as a person.
"What he is doing wrong and what I am saying is the economic programmes that he has put in place, they are not been in the best interest of Nigerians. Pure and simple. Nobody can deny that,” he said.
Reforms and a Way Forward
He also rejected the idea that his criticism of Tinubu meant he approved of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I did not say Buhari did well either. If you read my book about Buhari, I wasn’t polite. I said Buhari does not understand economics and he does not understand foreign affairs. And I was proved right,” he said.
Asked whether he saw any hope for the economy, Obasanjo said no. “What will get better? For the economy, I don’t see anything getting better,” he said.
He named two steps he considers vital.
“You must curb corruption, wastefulness and unnecessary luxury. So, you must be very careful how you spend money. You shouldn’t be spending money like a drunken sailor. Number two, you must produce,” he said.
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