As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms begin to yield results, the Independent Media and Policy Initiatives (IMPI) has recognised Nigerians as the driving force behind the country’s economic transition.
The Abuja-based think tank commended the resilience, adaptability and patriotism demonstrated by the vast majority of Nigerians during the challenging adjustment period.
In a policy statement issued recently, titled “Nigerians as Actual Executors of Tinubu’s Reforms as Economy Transits from Consumption to Productivity,” IMPI Chairman Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju said that while the administration established the policy framework, Nigerians were responsible for implementing the reforms in practice.
“While the administration sets the policy framework, Nigerians are the actual executors of the reform,” Akinsiju said.
He added that the public’s resilience must be matched by genuine government accountability and visible development outcomes.
“We expect the public’s resilience to be met with genuine govt accountability and visible developmental returns. These should ultimately demonstrate that the painful sacrifices made between 2023 and 2026 will serve as the foundation for Nigeria’s longterm economic independence,” he said.
Akinsiju said Nigeria was “firmly on track,” adding that the country was beginning to show “unmistakable signs of a 22nd-century superpower”—a long-term vision originally projected by one of the nation’s leading global entrepreneurs.
“By maintaining our policy direction and continuing to build on these structural reforms, we will ensure that Nigeria claims its rightful position as Africa’s industrial powerhouse and a leading force in the global economy,” he said.
For decades, Akinsiju noted, Nigeria’s macroeconomic narrative had been trapped in a cycle of resource-dependent volatility, structural stagnation and short-term populist solutions.
Successive administrations, he said, had routinely opted for temporary fixes—including subsidising consumption, maintaining artificial currency pegs and operating multiple exchange-rate windows—instead of addressing the deep-rooted distortions that constrained national productivity.
The inauguration of the Tinubu administration, he said, marked a decisive break from that unsustainable pattern.
Through political will and structural foresight, the administration initiated a comprehensive reset aimed at moving Nigeria from a consumption- driven, rent-seeking economy to a competitive, market-oriented and production-based one.
IMPI acknowledged that the immediate impact of the reforms placed significant pressure on households and businesses. However, Akinsiju said the broader macroeconomic framework beginning to deliver positive and lasting results.
“Capital inflows, industrial repositioning and external rating outlooks collectively
demonstrate a return of global institutional confidence,” he said.
He described the reform process as following a classic “J-curve” trajectory, in which conditions deteriorate before improving.
Reviewing economic data and projections from 2023 through mid-2026, Akinsiju divided the reform period into three phases: the Shock Phase, covering 2023‒2024; Stabilisation and Disinflation, covering 2025 to mid-2026; Structural Growth and Jobs, projected for 2026‒2030.
He said the removal of the petroleum subsidy and the floating of the naira sent headline inflation above 33 per cent in 2024, while poverty worsened. The World Bank estimated that an additional seven million Nigerians fell below the poverty line during the most intense phase of the adjustment.
According to Akinsiju, interest-rate increases by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index subsequently began to take effect, with headline inflation moderating from more than 33 per cent to 15.91 per cent in June 2026.
Economic growth also stabilised, with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank projecting GDP growth of between 4.1 per cent and 4.4 per cent in 2026.
The reforms, he said, had also strengthened Nigeria’s external position, lifting gross foreign reserves to approximately $52 billion as of June 2026.
However, Akinsiju noted that, as highlighted in the World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update, the country was moving beyond financial stabilisation to confront deeper structural challenges, including electricity, agriculture and infrastructure.
“We stand at the precipice of an era in which structural adjustments are crystallising into tangible microeconomic relief. The ground has been laid for an industrial renaissance that will redefine Nigeria’s role on the global stage,” he concluded.
