Only Thing Working for Tinubu’s Govt Is Macroeconomic Stability – Oby Ezekwesili

Former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, has said the only significant achievement of President Bola Tinubu’s administration so far is its handling of macroeconomic stability, arguing that Nigerians are yet to feel the benefits of the government’s economic reforms.

Ezekwesili, who spoke at the weekend in an interview with News Central TV, said although the government had made some progress in stabilising the foreign exchange market by adhering to market principles, the development had not translated into improved living conditions for ordinary Nigerians.

She said the country could not be said to be “out of the woods” when poverty remained widespread and the cost of living continued to rise, stressing that economic growth without productivity and structural reforms would not deliver prosperity.
“The only thing that, as I said at the beginning, we can give to them is they are getting a handle on macroeconomic stability. So, for example, the volatility we have with foreign exchange rate is quieter because they are abiding by market principles for foreign exchange policy.

“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 emphasised.
She argued that the inflationary crisis experienced by the country was avoidable, describing it as the consequence of poor management and a combination of policy choices.

“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.

The former minister said the government’s interpretation of macroeconomic indicators should not obscure the structural weaknesses that continue to constrain Nigeria’s ability to generate jobs, increase household incomes and improve living standards.

She explained that productivity remained at the heart of the problem, noting that countries could not become globally competitive without producing more efficiently.

“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.

Ezekwesili said Nigeria was still suffering from structural misalignment arising from economic policy choices that had failed to address the underlying constraints to productivity and economic opportunity.
She also criticised the federal government’s approach to budgeting, describing the continued operation of different budgets simultaneously as evidence of weak 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.

Ezekwesili compared Nigeria’s budget execution with China’s, arguing that the Asian country passes an annual budget and executes it effectively before moving on to the next fiscal cycle.

“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.”

She further accused the administration of failing to provide Nigerians with adequate performance records that would allow citizens to properly assess its achievements.

“And also this is a government that does not give you performance record. It’s almost like the young ones keep screaming about publishing the performance record before something gets done,” she said.

The former minister therefore urged the government to be more open about the challenges confronting the economy and acknowledge that significant problems remained unresolved.

Her comments came against the backdrop of the wider debate over whether recent improvements in some macroeconomic indicators represent evidence that Nigeria has emerged from its economic difficulties.

Ezekwesili maintained that such an assessment was premature, arguing that macroeconomic stability was only one component of a functioning economy and could not, on its own, demonstrate that Nigerians were becoming more prosperous.

On the broader state of the country, she said Nigeria’s challenges extended beyond economic management to weaknesses in institutions, territorial control, social cohesion and the delivery of basic public services.

She cited global assessments of state fragility, noting that Nigeria had remained among the most fragile countries in the world.

According to her, such rankings examine several factors, including a state’s control over its territory, the effectiveness of its bureaucracy, delivery of basic services, economic conditions and the equitable distribution of opportunities, as well as social cohesion.

She said Nigeria’s institutional weakness was particularly significant because institutions provide the rules and predictability required for economic growth and development.

“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.

Ezekwesili argued that effective institutions were necessary because they established predictable rules of the game within which citizens, businesses and governments could operate.

She said the combination of weak institutions, insecurity, low productivity, persistent poverty and poor economic opportunities had left the country facing challenges that could not be resolved simply by pointing to improvements in selected macroeconomic indicators.