By Hon. Musa Bakare
Nigeria again stands at a defining crossroads. The question confronting the nation today is profound: how do we consolidate the repair of structural weaknesses of yesterday, embarked upon by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the last three and a half years, while building an economy capable of delivering prosperity, dignity and opportunity for Nigeria tomorrow?
This is the fundamental question behind the national debate around President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the vociferous opposition, and the 2027 presidential election.
When President Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, Nigeria was grappling with longstanding challenges: fiscal pressures, foreign-exchange distortions, infrastructure deficits, insecurity, unemployment and widespread poverty.
His administration introduced major, difficult reforms, notably the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign-exchange regime.
These decisions generated intense debate and significant adjustments for citizens. The reforms address distortions that held the country back for decades.
Nigeria’s problems did not begin in 2023. Successive administrations struggled with over-dependence on crude oil revenues, inadequate electricity supply, weak industrial capacity, poor infrastructure and persistent inequality.
Acknowledging those inherited challenges is essential to justify serious policy. The hardship associated with reform does not necessarily mean reform was unnecessary. No government can permanently sustain economic inefficiencies and expect lasting prosperity.
What the Tinubu leadership has done is confront difficult realities while working to ensure that ordinary Nigerians are not abandoned to bear the heaviest burden of national adjustment.
Fixing the past means correcting the structural weaknesses that have prevented Nigeria from realising its enormous potential. Economic reform is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
The removal of petrol subsidies and the changes to the foreign-exchange regime have addressed fiscal pressures and market distortions head-on. Their ultimate value is the contribution to sustainable growth, increased investment, stronger productivity and improved living standards.
Under President Tinubu, Nigeria have moved beyond celebrating economic statistics to ensuring that growth translates into affordable food, better healthcare, reliable electricity, quality education and decent jobs.
The courage to reform have been matched by the wisdom to protect the vulnerable. Government have acknowledge possible shortcomings in implementation, improve delivery, and ensure that economic recovery reaches ordinary households.
For President Tinubu, the future of Nigeria cannot be built on consumption alone. It must rest on production, innovation, enterprise and human development. The future is built when public investment creates opportunities that outlive the administration that initiated them.
That is what the Renewed Hope Agenda promises in another four years, and its credibility depends on consolidation.
Hope becomes real when families can afford food, when businesses can expand, when a young person can find meaningful work, and when a community can access essential public services.
Increased government revenue will continue to translate into better roads, schools, healthcare, security, water supply and rural development.
Federal, state and local governments must all demonstrate how public resources are improving the lives of their people.
This is particularly important because national development cannot be achieved by the Federal Government alone. For the next four years, Nigeria’s 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory and the 774 local government areas have essential responsibilities in delivering development.
Every tier of government must answer a fundamental question: what measurable difference have public resources made in the lives of citizens?
The next phase of reform will therefore prioritise job creation, food affordability, social protection, infrastructure, accountable spending and expanded opportunities for young people.
Political opposition, on its part, must offer practical alternatives rather than rely exclusively on criticism. Citizens deserve a political culture in which policies are examined through evidence, public officials are held accountable, and achievements are assessed alongside shortcomings.
The 2027 presidential election presents Nigerians with an opportunity to consolidate the country’s current direction and to examine competing visions for its future.
The future of Nigeria is too important to be reduced to slogans and personalities.
Nigeria possesses enormous human and material potential. Its people have demonstrated resilience, creativity and enterprise despite persistent difficulties.
President Tinubu’s reform agenda ultimately transform promises economic adjustment into inclusive prosperity.
Consolidating the fixes of the past is the responsibility of the present. Building the future is the obligation of every generation.
The ultimate aim of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership is to leave behind a Nigeria more productive, more secure, more just and more prosperous than the nation it inherited.
– Hon. Musa Asiru Bakare, Member, Tinubu Support Group (TSG), writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
