“Tinubu’s economic policies disjointed, won’t end Nigerians’ hardship” – Financial Times

President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies are disjointed, pushing tens of millions into misery and would not end Nigerians’ hardships, Financial Times of London has reported.

In an editorial article assessing Tinubu’s over one year in office published on Wednesday, the newspaper dismissed “Tinubunomics,” a term blending Tinubu’s name with the last five letters of “economics,” as “disjointed.”

“Tinubu­n­om­ics” is so dis­join­ted it barely deserves the name”, the Financial Times wrote, warning that: “Shock ther­apy will prob­ably fail if important adjust­ments are not made.”

The newspaper said under Tinubu’s watch, “Hunger levels are soaring and millions of children are fore­go­ing meals and school,” adding that the president’s economic policies, fuel subsidy removal and floating of the naira, have “pushed tens of mil­lions of already impoverished people deeper into misery.”

“In the nearly 15 months since Bola Tinubu became pres­id­ent, he has forced his 220mn fel­low Nigeri­ans to swal­low some bit­ter medi­cine. He removed a gen­er­ous fuel sub­sidy, one of the few bene­fits cit­izens receive from their inef­fi­cient and cor­rupt state.

“He allowed the country’s currency, the naira, to enter freefall, fuel­ling impor­ted infla­tion and trig­ger­ing the worst cost of liv­ing crisis in a gen­er­a­tion. These measures have pushed tens of mil­lions of already impov­er­ished people deeper into misery,” the Financial Times further said.

Spokesperson for Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale, could not be reached for comment on the Financial Times criticism, as text and WhatsApp messages sent to him seeking a response to the Financial Times article went unreplied.

Another media aide for Tinubu’s government, Bayo Onanuga,  after asking to be shown the Financial Times story, replied that, “After reviewing the report, he claimed that it was “not new,” as it had been published since “last week Thursday,” and accused some section of the media of “quoting the paper out of context”. However, when informed that the Financial Times editorial was published on July 17, just three days ago, and asked to respond to its criticism, Onanuga did not reply.

This criticism from the Financial Times echoes earlier assessments from international media outlets. In June, the New York Times reported that Nigeria is enduring its worst economic crisis in decades under Tinubu’s leadership, characterised by spiking inflation, a declining national currency, and widespread food insecurity.

Despite the criticism, Tinubu has attributed the country’s economic woes to the legacies of his predecessors, suggesting that he inherited a nation in disarray.

As the economic situation continues to deteriorate, the effectiveness and impact of Tinubu’s policies remain under intense scrutiny both domestically and internationally, while citizens plan nationwide protests against Tinubu’s administration.