By
Coker Onita
There was a plethora of expenditures embarked upon by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the early part of this administration, that gave him the unfortunate appellation of being irresponsible. Call him a spendthrift ( Omo oninakuna ). One singular example is the release of huge sums of money to different agencies and arms of government, including the Judiciary to buy SUVs and other personal comfort. It also icluded the release of humongous funds for the legislature to buy exotic vehicles, refurbishment of homes for the executive arm, including the vice president, furniture purchases, etc.
Instead of government looking for projects that would quickly assuage the pains, the agony brought about by the immediate removal of fuel subsidy and other harsh economic measures, government behaved as if everything was normal. This gave most Nigerians false sense of hope.
Emir Muhammadu Lamido Sanusi, former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, renowned economist, revealed that President Tinubu couldn’t argue that a worse economic situation was handed over to him when he took over power. He succinctly captioned it: “Extravagant and unjustifiable expenditure under your leadership”. Said he: “Mr. President, you did not inherit a dilapidated Nigeria — You Are worsening it. l strongly disagree with your claim that you inherited a dilapidated Nigeria from your predecessor, President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Your administration’s spending patterns contradict this assertion.
Below are my reasons:
(a) ₦21 billion allocated for renovating the Vice President’s residence.
(b) ₦70 billion given to National Assembly members to purchase SUVs — each vehicle costing ₦160 million.
(c) ₦4 billion for renovation of Dodan Barracks and an additional ₦3 billion for Aguda House.
(d) ₦5 billion handed to the Presidential Tax Reforms Committee (less than 20 members), headed by Taiwo Oyedele.
(e) ₦1.5 billion allocated for vehicles for the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu — despite the fact that the Office of the First Lady is not recognized by the Constitution.
(f) A 300% salary increase for judges, passed swiftly by an indifferent and irresponsible Senate.
(g) ₦5 billion budgeted for the presidential fleet.
(h) ₦5 billion for a presidential yacht.
(I) A staggering ₦225 billion allegedly spent on a new presidential jet.
(j) ₦90 billion allocated for the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage.
(k) Billions spent on foreign trips for yourself and the Vice President at the expense of suffering citizens.
(l) Every senator now earns ₦21 million monthly, and House of Representatives members ₦13.5 million monthly — all salary hikes approved under your administration.
(m) The ₦15 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road contract was allegedly awarded illegally to your associate, Gilbert Chagoury, who was previously repatriated under former President Obasanjo.
(n) You have appointed the largest cabinet in Nigeria’s history — how is this being financed?
(o) You created a new Ministry of Livestock Development — what about the Oronsaye Report, which recommended merging and downsizing MDAs to reduce costs?
(p) Where is the fuel subsidy savings? How much has been saved, and what was it used for? Nigerians demand transparency.*
“What Nigerians are facing,” Sanusi Lamido itemized further include:
(1). Cost of governance has skyrocketed, not decreased.
(2). Fuel subsidy was removed without cushioning measures.
(3). Electricity tariffs have been hiked.
(4). Education and healthcare are now unaffordable for the average Nigerian.
(5). Prices of food and basic goods are beyond reach.
(6). lnsecurity and killings have increased.
(7). The economy has deteriorated significantly.
(8). Unemployment is rising.
(9). Corruption has been institutionalized.
(10). Nepotism is rampant.
(11). Your government’s slogan of “Renewed Hope” has turned into renewed hopelessness, destitution, and deception.
(12). Mr. President, your lifestyle, and that of your ministers, governors, and top officials — including service chiefs and heads of agencies — reflect reckless opulence, not the austerity of a “dilapidated” nation. Leaders are getting richer. Citizens are growing poorer.
“This trajectory must be reversed immediately. This is just a glimpse of the insensitive and reckless leadership we are currently enduring,” he concluded.
With these revelations and expositions from an expert, it becames very clear to an ordinary Nigerian like me that there may be no hope in sight. l therefore began to remove my hope and trust in Tinubu for a better Nigeria. Just last week or so, another demand for loan was being debated by the House of Representatives. Our local debt portfolio has now risen to over N152 trillion. This, to a layman, is not only staggering, it is near death!!
The foreign debt portfolio is equally jaw breaking. By quarter three of 2025, our public debt has risen to $99.68 billion. Yet, we hardly see what we have achieved. Our security has not shown any appreciable improvement. Ditto for the economy. Life has become more nasty, brutish and short. Apologies to Frantz Fanon.
Let me confess that beyond my higher school level, l know nothing about economics, hence lay no claim to sound economic analysis or judgement .But you’ll agree that if we follow this trajectory, we don’t need any expert knowledge before we know that we have enterred what Nigerian urban dwellers call “one chance”.
The direct consequence of this poor and extravagant style of leadership is our penchant to borrow, even, if possible from our enemies. Our concern now is the ratio of debt to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), though experts say, is still tolerable, the cost of debt servicing is the “Killer Punch”. Call it unmitigated disaster, looming large on the horizon. Our unborn generations will not escape repayment, if care is not taken.
On top of this very ugly scenario, we are running three budget cycles in one year and another one is imminent. “Confusion don break bone”, as our legendary Fela would say. One does not need any expert knowledge to know that such situation will breed corruption, nepotism, inefficiency and unbridled tardiness!!
Why create very big, unmanageable budgets without corresponding source of funding? What sense does it make that we keep approving budgets, give out jobs to contractors without payment backing? Now, contractors are carrying placards in Abuja, asking government to settle.
Last week, President Tinubu approached the National Assembly for another tranch of borrowing. Now, l soliloquise:”We go borrow die? With what is hanging precariously on our necks, debt go kill us oooh.”
We borrow not to do things that would help the economy, reduce inflation, increase productivity and make life more abundant for the citizens but for frivolities. l tire sef!!
Or how do we explain a situation where President Tinubu uses the same official vehicle with President Donald Trump of United States, the purchase of a wide body aircraft, a yatch, etc? Or a bloated cabinet with it’s attendant economic implications. ls Tinubu borrowing Nigeria to death? This is the trillion dollar question.
Who will salvage this economy for us? Certainly, NOT this government. We need a fresh breath, call it, a fresh start, a fresh beginning.
MR COKER ONITA WAS PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF TODAY’S CHOICE MAGAZINE, COLUMNIST AND EDITORIAL CONSULTANT, INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS LIMITED.
