o single out President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for Nigeria’s current woes would be dishonest. He is not the architect of this rot—he is merely the latest tenant in a broken house constructed by decades of irresponsible governance. The crisis gripping Africa’s most populous nation did not begin with Tinubu’s swearing-in on May 29, 2023; it is the product of a long, painful history of squandered opportunities, weak institutions, and a political elite that has treated leadership as an avenue for self-enrichment rather than national service.
Nigeria’s economic crisis, punctuated by a depreciating naira, hyperinflation, and rising debt, has been a slow-moving disaster. Inflation reached 33.95% in May 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, the highest in nearly three decades. Food inflation has skyrocketed to over 40%, pushing millions below the poverty line.
However, this trend didn’t begin with Tinubu. Under Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, Nigeria’s public debt rose from ₦12.6 trillion in 2015 to ₦46.3 trillion by mid-2023. Fuel subsidies, which cost the country ₦11.2 trillion between 2015 and 2023, were maintained without a clear roadmap for alternatives. The Central Bank’s controversial monetary policies under Godwin Emefiele plunged the country into currency uncertainty, leaving scars that Tinubu’s government is now attempting to heal.
Yet Tinubu’s own policies have not inspired confidence. His abrupt removal of fuel subsidies and unification of the exchange rate—though economically sound in theory—were implemented without adequate cushioning for the masses. The result has been a sharp increase in transportation, food, and utility costs. Citizens have seen their purchasing power erode while insecurity remains a national nightmare. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, over 2,300 Nigerians were reported killed in violent attacks, kidnappings, and clashes, according to data from SBM Intelligence. Despite campaign promises, the government’s response remains reactive, fragmented, and underwhelming.
But to lay this failure solely at Tinubu’s feet is to ignore the chronic dysfunction of Nigeria’s political system. Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has cycled through military coups, civilian administrations, and hybrid regimes that have often prioritized ethnic patronage and political survival over meaningful development. Visionless planning, institutional decay, and policy summersaults have left the country with over 20 million out-of-school children—the highest globally—while unemployment continues to hover above 33%, trapping a majority of the population in a vicious cycle of poverty and frustration.
What Nigeria suffers from is not just bad leadership, but a broken model of leadership selection. Elections are rarely won on the strength of ideas, but on ethno-religious alliances, vote-buying, and violence. Public office is treated as a reward for loyalty, not competence. Legislative oversight is weak, judicial accountability is selective, and civil society’s voice is often drowned out by propaganda machines. In such a system, even the most well-meaning leader is doomed to fail unless the structural foundations are rebuilt.
Tinubu is neither Nigeria’s saviour nor its sole villain. He is a symbol of continuity in a system that rewards political longevity over transformative leadership. As citizens grow increasingly restless, protesting the cost of living and demanding reform, it is clear that change will not come from one man or one election cycle. It must come from a radical reawakening—a refusal by Nigerians to accept the status quo, a demand for merit, transparency, and genuine public service.
Until then, Tinubu will come and go, like those before him. But the rot will remain. And the house will continue to fall apart—unless we decide to tear it down and rebuild it on the foundation of truth, justice, and visionary leadership.
