What Nigerians Are Afraid to Admit

By

Bamidele Atoyebi

 

In every corner of this country, from political debates to beer-parlour conversations, one truth hovers in the background but rarely gets voiced.

 

Some Nigerian elite do not want to admit that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reforms are beginning to show results.

 

The resistance began long before he took office. Opposition parties challenged his victory at every level, and some political groups even floated impeachment talk when their legal battles collapsed in court.

 

For many, the bias against him was sealed in 2023: no matter what he does, Tinubu must fail.

 

And yet, outside that political echo chamber, ordinary Nigerians are already saying what elites won’t.

 

Overcoming sentiments and applying logic some citizens have plainly acknowledged that the man they swore would be Nigeria’s undoing is actually taking bold steps to stabilize the country.

 

Perhaps you need to see this to join the good wagon.

 

Within weeks of assuming office, Tinubu took perhaps the most politically risky decision in modern Nigerian history: he scrapped the petrol subsidy.

 

In just two months, the government claimed savings of ₦1 trillion, money long siphoned away by inefficiency and corruption.

 

Next came the foreign exchange market reforms. By unifying the FX windows and introducing electronic price discovery, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) dismantled a shadowy system of arbitrage and opened the door to investor confidence.

 

The naira, battered for years, has shown signs of relative stability.

 

On the fiscal side, Tinubu signed the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, consolidating and modernizing tax laws to improve compliance and broaden the base.

 

Beyond the economy, his government has acted on education by amending and signing the Student Loans Act into law, giving thousands of young Nigerians access to tertiary education funding.

 

On wages, his administration reached a landmark deal with labour unions for a new ₦70,000 minimum wage.

 

And in the troubled power sector, the government approved a ₦4 trillion refinancing plan to clear electricity companies’ debts and keep the lights on.

 

These are not token gestures. They are foundational reforms. Yet, Nigerians Still Refuse to Admit It

 

Psychology explains some of it. Studies on confirmation bias and motivated reasoning show that people cling to their prior beliefs even when facts contradict them.

 

Many Nigerians swore Tinubu could do no good, and so every step forward is either denied or dismissed as “not enough.” Some even wished him dead, while others are willing to go the extra mile to spread false news just to dismiss the evident positive results.

 

However, politics is the larger culprit. Admitting reforms are working means conceding that the man you opposed might not be the villain you painted him to be. For some, that is harder to bear than the hardship itself.

 

This is not to romanticize Nigeria’s pain. The removal of subsidies and FX reforms have fueled inflation and raised the cost of living, millions face food insecurity.

 

Critics are right about this; the hardship is real. At the same time Nigerians are adjusting.

 

But here is the part Nigerians are afraid to admit; our current struggles are not new, nor can they be erased overnight.

 

Every complaint we voice today; corruption, poverty, unemployment, insecurity, has been here for decades. To expect any government to perform instant miracles is to live in denial.

 

Reform is a process, not a magic trick. Leadership is not beans, especially when leading millions who often care more about short-term relief than long-term stability.

 

Tinubu’s government has already shown that it came in with good intentions. The early reforms, though painful, are the kinds of decisions previous administrations postponed out of fear.

 

More will come, but only if Nigerians summon the patience to let the process unfold.

 

It is time we shed our pride and political bias. The opposition for the opposition’s sake will not build Nigeria. What will build Nigeria is the courage to acknowledge progress, even when it comes from the person you swore could never deliver.

 

Bamidele Atoyebi is the Convenor of BAT Ideological Group, National Coordinator of Accountability and Policy monitoring and a publisher at Unfiltered and Mining Reporting