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Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has identified macroeconomic stability as the major area where President Bola Tinubu’s administration has made notable progress, but said the gains have yet to translate into better living conditions for most Nigerians.
Ezekwesili made the assessment during an interview with News Central TV, where she examined the impact of the administration’s economic reforms and the broader state of the Nigerian economy.
According to her, the government deserves credit for reducing volatility in the foreign exchange market by allowing market forces to play a greater role in determining the value of the naira.
“The only thing that, as I said at the beginning, we can give to them is they are getting a handle on macroeconomic stability,” she said.
She, however, argued that improved macroeconomic indicators should not be mistaken for an improvement in the welfare of ordinary citizens.
Ezekwesili noted that although inflation figures might suggest some progress, Nigerians continue to face high prices for essential goods and services.
“Then you look at inflation. Inflation, even though they use the methodology to crash it in terms of the numbers, but the real thing is that the cost of living for the average citizen is still pretty high,” she said.
The former minister also criticised the government’s handling of inflation, arguing that the sharp rise in prices could have been avoided through better policy coordination.
“The inflation that spiked did not have to happen. It was a poor management of a combination of policies that led to that runaway kind of inflation that we had,” she said.
Ezekwesili maintained that Nigeria’s economic challenges extend beyond inflation and exchange-rate movements, pointing to low productivity as a major obstacle to sustainable growth and global competitiveness.
She argued that the country must significantly increase its productive capacity if economic reforms are to translate into more jobs, higher incomes and improved living standards.
“What do you have? You have a complete lack of productivity in yours compared to the others. So without productivity, you can’t even be competitive globally,” she said.
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The former minister also raised concerns about the government’s approach to budgeting, describing the existence of multiple budget cycles as evidence of poor fiscal management.
“The other thing is you look at the budget. You see that there is a problem. You have budgets within budgets,” she said.
She compared Nigeria’s budget implementation with China’s, arguing that the country should operate a clearer annual budget cycle and complete the execution of one fiscal plan before moving on to another.
“In our own case, I think there was a time they said 2024 is still open, 2025 is still open, 2026 is on,” she said, describing the situation as “recklessness in terms of fiscal choices and decisions.”
Oby Ezekwesili also criticised the administration for what she described as inadequate disclosure of its performance records, saying citizens should have access to clear evidence with which to assess government achievements.
“And also this is a government that does not give you performance record,” she said.
She further warned against declaring Nigeria’s economic problems solved based solely on improvements in selected macroeconomic indicators.
According to her, sustainable development requires stronger institutions, higher productivity, improved security and better access to economic opportunities.
Ezekwesili also pointed to Nigeria’s position in global assessments of state fragility, arguing that weaknesses in institutions, territorial control, public services and social cohesion continue to undermine the country’s development.
She stressed that strong institutions were essential for creating predictable rules that allow citizens, businesses and governments to operate effectively.
“The reason that research tells us that institutional quality is at the centre of it is because, of course, we know that if you want to generate growth, you want to generate development in any society, you need institutions,” she said.
Oby Ezekwesili therefore argued that while macroeconomic stability is important, it cannot by itself demonstrate that Nigeria is on the path to prosperity when poverty, insecurity, low productivity and high living costs remain significant challenges.
