More than 30 months after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu launched his far-reaching economic reforms designed to stabilise Nigeria’s battered economy, millions of citizens are yet to feel the promised relief.
While the administration insists that its bold fiscal and monetary adjustments are yielding results, the NATIONAL ECONOMY Board of Economists said the reforms have not translated into tangible improvements in living standards. The Board warned that “macroeconomic stability on paper means little if citizens continue to face deepening hardship.”
From the removal of fuel subsidies to the unification of the exchange rate, Tinubu’s policies have earned applause from global institutions as necessary measures to correct structural distortions. Government officials point to falling inflation, narrowing deficits, and rising investor confidence as proof that the economy is stabilising.
According to fiscal data, Nigeria’s budget deficit has reportedly narrowed from 5.6 per cent of GDP in 2023 to about 3 per cent in 2024, and 4.7 per cent in 2025. But the Board of Economists argued that these numbers mask a harsher domestic reality. While foreign investors may be gradually returning, everyday Nigerians — traders, transporters, and low-income earners — say they have seen little to no improvement in their lives.
“The reforms are working on paper, but in our homes prices keep rising and incomes don’t,” said Bolade Akinsanya, a trader in Lagos. “We were told things would get better, but they’ve only become harder.”
Inflation, though reportedly easing, remains painfully high. Official figures show a decline from 29.90 per cent in January 2024 to 18.22 per cent in September 2025, but food prices and household costs have not reflected the change. The removal of fuel subsidies has also driven petrol prices to above ₦1,000 per litre in some states, pushing up transport fares and logistics costs.
For many citizens, the real problem is not necessarily the reform agenda itself but its implementation. Economists argue that while Tinubu’s measures were vital to rescue an economy on the brink, their abrupt rollout left households unprotected.
“The government underestimated the shock effect of subsidy removal and currency devaluation,” said Dr. Nelson Nkwo, a financial economist at Ebonyi State University. “The transition should have been phased, with stronger social protection mechanisms for the poor.”
Although the government has introduced conditional cash transfers and youth employment programmes, analysts said weak implementation and poor targeting have left most Nigerians out of the safety net. The benefits, they argued, are concentrated among large firms and formal sector employees, leaving informal workers who make up the majority of the labour force stranded.
Beyond immediate policy concerns, the country’s structural weaknesses remain unresolved. Power supply continues to be erratic, transport infrastructure underdeveloped, and manufacturing costs unbearably high.
“Without addressing productivity challenges, these reforms won’t translate into jobs or income growth,” said Dr. Chukwunenye Kocha, a financial economist at Rivers State University and a member of the NATIONAL ECONOMY Board of Economists.
Private sector leaders have expressed similar frustration. Dr. Kayode Adesina, a member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that while investor sentiment is improving, consumer demand is collapsing.
“Private sector confidence is returning, but people’s purchasing power is disappearing,” Adesina said. “No economy grows sustainably when consumers can’t afford what’s produced. We need immediate measures to boost disposable income.”
The labour movement has also grown increasingly restless. A senior official of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), who preferred anonymity, said workers are losing patience as rising prices outpace stagnant wages.
“Wage adjustments have not matched inflation, and living conditions are deteriorating,” the NLC official said. “The government cannot reform the economy while ignoring the human cost.”
To ordinary Nigerians, success is not measured by fiscal charts or investor briefings, but by what they see at the market, at schools, and in hospitals. A 2025 national survey found that over 70 per cent of households believe they are worse off financially than before the reforms began.
Even among young entrepreneurs, frustration is mounting. Aisha Suleiman, a small fashion entrepreneur in Ogun State, said, “We believed the reforms would help small businesses grow, but the cost of fuel, power, and raw materials keeps rising. It’s difficult to survive, let alone expand.”
In a recent national broadcast, President Tinubu acknowledged the pain caused by his reforms, insisting that short-term hardship is a necessary sacrifice for long-term stability. “The alternative would have been economic collapse,” he said, promising that “the coming months will bring relief” as new investments mature and inflation continues to moderate.
But economists say public patience is wearing thin. They warned that the widening gap between economic theory and lived experience threatens to erode confidence in the reform agenda.
Dr. Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), said the government must now pivot from macroeconomic stabilisation to inclusive growth. “Macroeconomic stability is meaningless if people can’t afford food,” he said.
Several experts also raised concerns about what they described as “a credibility crisis” in the government’s reform drive, arguing that it is difficult to ask citizens to tighten their belts when political leaders appear unwilling to do the same.
“The optics are terrible,” said Dr. Moses Olaleye, an erstwhile economics lecturer. “You can’t remove subsidies and devalue the naira while maintaining bloated overheads, convoys, and wasteful spending. It erodes public trust in the process.”
He added, “We can’t reform an economy while politicians spend as if oil is still $120 a barrel. Fiscal discipline must start from the top if citizens are to believe in the process.”
At Adeleke University, a member of the NATIONAL ECONOMY Board of Economists, Professor Tayo Bello, shared similar sentiments, noting that the funds saved from subsidy removal should have been channelled into visible infrastructure. “Instead, it’s being swallowed by an inefficient bureaucracy,” he said. “Without cutting the cost of governance, reforms will remain cosmetic.”
As the reforms enter their third year, the consensus among the NATIONAL ECONOMY Board of Economists is that the Tinubu administration must shift from stabilisation to inclusion — prioritising job creation, price relief, and targeted social investments.
Until then, many Nigerians will continue to view the reforms not as a path to prosperity, but as a burden they are being asked to carry alone.
