Nigerians’ Endurance Keeping Tinubu’s Economic Reforms on Track, Says IMPI

The resilience of Nigerians in absorbing the economic shocks of recent reforms has helped keep President Bola Tinubu’s economic transition on track, the Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has said.

The national think tank said citizens had endured the immediate effects of fuel subsidy removal, naira flotation and rising costs while the government worked to stabilise the economy.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, IMPI said the reforms might have faltered without what it described as the “historic resilience and patriotic endurance” of Nigerians.

The statement, titled *Nigerians as Actual Executors of Tinubu’s Reforms as Economy Transits from Consumption to Productivity*, was released in Abuja on July 31.

IMPI argued that Nigerians were not passive beneficiaries of the reforms but active participants in determining whether the economic transition would succeed.

According to the group, citizens have played three major roles: absorbing the immediate economic shocks, demanding accountability in the management of public resources and changing their production and consumption patterns.

It noted that the removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira resulted in sharp increases in the cost of transportation, food and energy, placing significant pressure on households and businesses.

However, the resilience of families and micro, small and medium enterprises helped economic activities continue despite severe inflationary pressures in 2024 and 2025.

“Rather than being passive spectators, Nigerians have been the primary shock absorbers, the ultimate arbiters of accountability and the engine of behavioural realignment required for a market-driven economy,” Akinsiju said.

IMPI also credited Nigerians with helping to enforce accountability by demanding that resources saved from subsidy reforms translate into tangible improvements in infrastructure, healthcare and human capital.

It said civil society advocacy, public debates and social media campaigns had increasingly placed pressure on government institutions to demonstrate how public funds were being deployed.

The think tank noted that the success of intervention programmes such as the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), compressed natural gas (CNG) initiatives and direct cash transfers would depend partly on citizens monitoring their implementation.

It urged Nigerians to remain actively involved in demanding transparency and accountability to prevent the benefits of such programmes from being lost through inefficiency or corruption.

Beyond accountability, IMPI identified changing consumption habits as another important factor in the economic transition.

It argued that higher import costs arising from naira depreciation could encourage consumers and businesses to support locally produced goods, thereby strengthening domestic manufacturing, agriculture and technology enterprises.

“As the floating of the naira makes imported goods exponentially more expensive, the role of Nigerian consumers and businesses is shifting towards ‘Buying Nigerian’,” the statement said.

According to the organisation, greater patronage of locally produced goods would reduce Nigeria’s vulnerability to foreign exchange volatility while creating stronger domestic value chains.

It also maintained that the movement of more individuals and businesses into the formal economy would expand the country’s tax base and help reduce dependence on oil revenues.

IMPI said the current reforms should be understood against the background of economic policies pursued over several decades, which it claimed relied heavily on subsidised consumption and interventions in the foreign exchange market.

The group argued that repeated attempts to maintain artificial exchange rates and subsidise consumption had weakened foreign reserves, discouraged domestic production and created opportunities for arbitrage.

It contrasted that approach with the Tinubu administration’s decision to allow greater market determination of the exchange rate and remove petrol subsidy.

The think tank said the measures, although painful, were addressing what it described as the structural weaknesses that had made the Nigerian economy vulnerable to external shocks.

“By taking the ‘bitter medicine’ that previous governments avoided, this federal administration has fundamentally changed the global perception of the Nigerian marketplace,” Akinsiju said.

IMPI further argued that the reforms were gradually repositioning Nigeria from a consumption-driven economy towards one based on production and value addition.

It identified fiscal adjustments, digitalisation of government processes and long-term industrial planning as important elements of the transition.

The group said the central objective should be for Nigeria to produce more of what it consumes while processing its raw materials before export.

It, however, stressed that government policy alone could not guarantee the success of the reforms.

According to IMPI, sustained citizen participation, stronger accountability and greater investment in local production would be necessary to consolidate the economic gains and ensure that the reforms deliver long-term benefits.

The think tank therefore called for continued public engagement with the reform process, urging Nigerians to remain patient while also holding government accountable for how resources generated through the reforms are deployed.