The prominent pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organisation, Afenifere, under the leadership of Oba Oladipo Olaitan, has delivered a scathing mid-term review of President Bola Tinubu’s two-year administration, asserting that Nigerians have been subjected to “harrowing pain and anguish.”
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The group contended that the administration’s much-touted reforms have, in essence, “deformed” the lives of ordinary citizens.
In a strong statement jointly signed by Oba Olaitan and its National Publicity Secretary, Justice Faloye, Afenifere declared, “No amount of propaganda will erase the hunger and poverty in the land.”
The statement heavily criticised the government for what it perceives as a failure to take responsibility for the widespread suffering.
“Rather than take full responsibility for the unmitigated suffering inflicted on Nigerians in the past two years due to its wrong policy choices and wasteful spending, the Tinubu administration has engaged in massive propaganda, claiming false successes, shifting blame to global and historical factors, and showing scant empathy for ordinary Nigerians,” the group asserted.
Afenifere specifically attributed the economic woes to “unforced errors,” citing “the oversight of the production element of subsidy removal and the floating of the naira without any preparation to cushion the predictable impact.”
The statement concluded, “Basically, due to unforced errors—especially the oversight of the production element of subsidy removal and the floating of the naira without any preparation to cushion the predictable impact—the Tinubu economic reforms have turned out to be Tinubu economic deforms.”
In nine key points, the group systematically faulted the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms. It cited data from the National Economic Summit Group, indicating that over seven million businesses have shut down since 2023.
Furthermore, it highlighted a “horrific increase in poverty” and a significant drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita from $3,222.7 in 2014 to about $806 in 2025.
The Afenifere faction also condemned the “astronomical rise in public debt,” noting that the nation’s debt has ballooned by over N100 trillion in just two years.
Addressing the housing crisis, the group lamented that “About 30 million Nigerians are without a roof over their heads, while 108 million live in substandard housing, according to Development Aid statistics.”
They sharply criticised the government’s housing budget: “The Tinubu administration budgeted for the provision of a mere 20,000 houses in 2025, despite our population increase being over six million people (nearly 20,000 a day) in 2025. At 20,000 homes a year, it would take a thousand years for everyone to have a roof over their head.”
Additionally, Afenifere accused the Tinubu government of being “unabashedly profligate.”
They argued that the administration’s failure to implement the Steve Oronsaye report, which recommended trimming down the cost of governance, served as further proof of its excesses.
The statement detailed these alleged extravagances: “The tone of government at all levels is one of a profligate jaiye jaiye lifestyle, while the masses are being berated about Nigeria’s wasteful past and the imperative of sacrifice to restore fiscal integrity. The government’s first supplementary budget and subsequent budgets were spent not only on preserving but also on increasing the luxurious lifestyle of those in government—new presidential jet, Cadillac limousines, N160m cars for each federal legislator, and scandalous increases in unaccounted constituency projects worth billions to each legislator.”
The group also raised grave concerns about the worsening state of insecurity across the country, citing a recent Amnesty International report on killings over the past two years.
Afenifere adamantly insisted on the urgent need for restructuring and the establishment of state police to effectively address Nigeria’s pervasive security challenges.
The statement grimly read: “The Tinubu administration is trading off the lives of Nigerians by refusing to devolve power for the creation of state police. Across Nigeria, there is a resurgence in the activities of bandits, kidnappers and insurgents. According to Amnesty International, over 10,000 people have been killed and nearly 1,000 villages destroyed in the two years of Tinubu’s presidency, while two new terrorist groups have emerged. The failure to treat this as an emergency and devolve powers to enable states to create their police forces places the responsibility, if not culpability, for all lives lost since 2023 at the feet of the President.”
Finally, the group alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is actively sponsoring crises within opposition parties to pave the way for a one-party state ahead of the 2027 general election.
They pointed to increased intolerance of protests, a “gale of opposition politicians decamping to the ruling party to prevent institutional victimisation,” and even speculated on “government sponsorship of internal conflicts in opposition parties and sociopolitical groups.”
The statement further read: “The emasculation of liberal democratic values is now flagrantly displayed, without any shame or restraint”.
