Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has called on Nigerians to adopt a more optimistic outlook toward their country, urging them to abandon the phrase “May Nigeria never happen to you.”
Speaking at The Platform, an event hosted by Covenant Nation on Saturday, Oyedele highlighted the need for a positive mindset amidst economic challenges brought about by President Bola Tinubu’s reforms, which have significantly impacted the cost of living.
“There is nothing wrong with Nigeria. But maybe there is something wrong with the people ruling Nigeria,” he said. “In America, people get killed every day by gunmen. But have you ever heard Americans say, ‘May America never happen to you?’ Let’s stop saying, ‘May Nigeria never happen to you.’ Maybe we can turn it into, ‘May Nigeria work for me.’”
Expressing hope for the country’s economic future, Oyedele stated: “Going by available data, I personally believe that the worst is behind us. Removing subsidies is the best decision we made as a country. And we can now say that, for once, subsidy is gone.
“We were living on window-dressed realities. If you look back to about two years ago, the naira exchange rate was N450 depending on who you asked. But was our exchange rate really N450? If you wanted to buy petrol, it was under N200 per litre, but was it really under N200 per litre?”
Oyedele also detailed the unsustainable nature of the pre-reform economy, revealing how excessive borrowing and debt servicing nearly pushed Nigeria into economic collapse.
“Nigeria used all its revenue to service debts. We were not paying debts back; we were just servicing them. In other words, everything else we did—from paying salaries to fighting Boko Haram—was funded by borrowing,” he explained.
Citing examples from other struggling economies, Oyedele noted: “There were countries where you could hold money and still not get fuel to buy. In Sri Lanka, there was a time you couldn’t drive your car every day of the week because there was no fuel.”
He also criticized the country’s past practice of excessive money printing, saying, “We printed close to N40 trillion, plus interest. And we were surprised there was inflation. Nigerians don’t realise that the invisible controls the visible. The removal of subsidies is not something you can see physically—it is not tangible.”
