Nigeria’s path to economic redemption now lies squarely on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s (PBAT) shoulders, according to a searing public statement by social commentator, Timi Ogunsanwo.
In a vivid metaphor capturing decades of decline, Ogunsanwo accused successive governments of burying the nation, declaring:
“GEJ’s regime with Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala dug Nigeria’s grave and bought its coffin. PMB’s regime put Nigeria in the coffin, nailed it and lowered the coffin to the grave.
Rather than cover it up, PBAT’s regime use the strenuous labour of the masses to uplift the coffin, open it, set Nigeria free but in the process, the masses suffered and some died.”
He warned that while Tinubu’s macroeconomic policies are “very painfully successful,” his political survival and the country’s stability depend on swiftly addressing the economic hardship “the reforms unleashed on them.”
From Grave to Survival
Ogunsanwo’s statement underscores the long-running public frustration with Nigeria’s economic trajectory.
He said Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, with former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at its economic helm, “dug Nigeria’s grave and bought its coffin.”
Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure, he argued, “put Nigeria in the coffin, nailed it and lowered the coffin to the grave.” The critique mirrors Nigeria’s worsening economic indicators over the past decade.
By mid-2023, the country’s debt stock had climbed to over ₦87 trillion ($113 billion), while unemployment and underemployment surged above 40%, according to Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics.
Tinubu’s Bold but Costly Gamble
Ogunsanwo credited Tinubu for taking on challenges his predecessors sidestepped, noting that his administration sought to “set Nigeria free” by dismantling entrenched systems.
The removal of fuel subsidies in May 2023 and the unification of foreign exchange rates have been described by economists as essential but highly disruptive.
Inflation soared to 34.19% in June 2025, with food inflation topping 40%, leaving households in financial distress and sparking waves of protests nationwide.
“Nigeria is now set free,” Ogunsanwo said, “but it is high time that PBAT now address the sufferings of the masses used in salvaging it so that Nigeria can now trod the path of Great Nationhood.”
Confronting the ‘Economic Leeches’
Central to Ogunsanwo’s warning is the influence of what he calls Nigeria’s “Economic Saboteurs.”
He urged Tinubu to:
- “Immediately eradicate the largesse enjoyed by the Nation’s Economic Saboteurs (Leeches) as their perpetual enticements.”
- “Go after them and forcefully recover the stolen largesse.”
He suggested that fear of such a crackdown explains why these interests, whom he accused of a “gang up,” may seek to block Tinubu’s bid for a second term.
“What these leeches are trying to avert may eventually lead to their final destruction.”
Ogunsanwo said, predicting a reckoning that could finally liberate Nigeria’s economy.
The Second-Term Equation
While acknowledging that Tinubu’s policies have had measurable effects, Ogunsanwo insisted the president now faces a decisive test: balancing structural reforms with the immediate needs of ordinary Nigerians.
“PBAT now have to squarely address the yearnings of the masses by alleviating the economic hardship the reforms unleashed on them if he wants a 2nd Term. This is the unvarnished truth,” he stressed.
Political analysts say Tinubu’s ability to pivot from reform-driven austerity to policies that deliver tangible relief could determine not only his reelection prospects but also the trajectory of Africa’s largest democracy.
Wider Commentary on Nigeria’s Economic Crossroads
Ogunsanwo’s stark imagery goes alongside with already ignited debate among social and policy commentators.
Economist Bismarck Rewane recently argued that while Tinubu’s reforms were “necessary surgery,” they risk leaving “the patient bleeding” without urgent social palliatives.
Political analyst Jibrin Ibrahim noted that Nigeria’s elite resistance to reform “has always been the stumbling block,” echoing Ogunsanwo’s warning about economic saboteurs.
Internationally, observers also point to a critical window. The World Bank warned in early 2025 that unless Nigeria pairs reforms with social safety nets, “gains in fiscal stability may be undermined by social unrest.”
As Nigeria stands at what Ogunsanwo called an “interesting Phase,” the question remains whether Tinubu can balance structural reform with human survival, a balance that could define Nigeria’s future for decades.
