‘TINUBU’S CURE IS WORKING’ — OSHIOMHOLE DEFENDS ECONOMIC REFORMS AMID PAIN
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By Oduola F.A.
Former Edo State Governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, has thrown his weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, insisting that despite the current hardship facing Nigerians, the administration is steering the country in the right direction toward recovery.
Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Oshiomhole acknowledged widespread frustration over the surging cost of living and business shutdowns following the 2023 fuel subsidy removal, but appealed to citizens for patience and continued faith in the reform process.
“There is no question that there are huge challenges. But if you look at the balance sheet that this president inherited — massive liabilities arising from the very reckless misuse of ways and means — you’d understand why these steps were necessary,” he said.
Describing the economic recovery process as akin to a medical operation, he noted:
“It’s a work in progress. The surgeon has gone to carry out the surgery. He understands that there is a level of pain — there has to be pain. But the good news is that the patient is healing. Maybe he could heal faster, but there can be no question that the patient is healing.”
He pointed to the exchange rate unification as a painful but critical decision to align supply with demand, warning that failure to do so could have plunged the country into a Zimbabwe-like economic collapse.
“The consequential increase in cost of living was predictable. But if that was not done, Nigeria was on its way to Zimbabwe,” Oshiomhole stated.
According to him, President Tinubu deliberately chose to make all the difficult but necessary decisions in his first term to pave the way for long-term recovery.
“He took the right decision by insisting that in the first term, he would take all the tough decisions — prayerfully — so that as we move on, the situation improves,” he said.
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‘No Quick Fix, Inherited Challenges’
Oshiomhole dismissed the idea of quick fixes, noting that meaningful governance requires time and a deep understanding of inherited challenges.
“There is no magic to governance. I don’t think any Nigerian who understands the macroeconomic environment that was inherited by this government would expect that, in 24 months, everything would be fixed,” he said.
“Truly, this economy was badly mismanaged. This is not to blame anyone, but to speak to fact. I can say the worst is over, and we are going to begin to witness improvements in standard of living.”
Drawing from his own experience as a former state governor, he noted that every leader needs time to assess the depth of challenges and determine what should take priority.
“As a governor, it took me time to have a holistic view of the challenges I inherited and to decide, in terms of priority, what to do first.”
He concluded by acknowledging the current hardship in communities but maintained a cautiously optimistic outlook:
“As a Nigerian, I live in the community and among the people. I can say that there is a level of hardship, but things are improving.”
The former Edo State governor said if a presidential election were held today, Tinubu would still win, given his bold and necessary decisions to reposition Nigeria’s economy.
“Given where we are today in the economy, Tinubu will still win the presidential election,” Oshiomhole declared.
He praised the President for eliminating what he described as an exploitative foreign exchange regime that previously benefited only a privileged few.
“Tinubu abolished the ‘benefit of exchange rate’ transfer to bureau de change. Today, what he gets in exchange rate is what I get. Eliminating that free rate — which was available to a few people connected with the CBN management — took courage,”he explained.
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