Farooq Kperogi, a US-based Nigerian professor of journalism, has criticised the economic policies of the Bola Tinubu administration.
Speaking in an interview with Rudolf Okonkwo on 90MinutesAfrica, Kperogi warned that the president’s economic reforms are pushing Nigerians deeper into hardship.
Since taking office on May 29, 2023, Tinubu has removed fuel subsidies and floated the naira — two major policies his administration has defended as necessary for long-term economic stability.
But Kperogi said the decisions have combined to trigger a “hyper-inflationary conflagration,” driving the prices of basic goods and services beyond the reach of most citizens.
“There is nowhere on earth where the gutting of subsidies and the devaluation of the national currency simultaneously has ever led to prosperity,” Kperogi said.
“What it has always led to is the hollowing out of the middle class, mass pauperization and of course the enrichment of the already rich.
“When you add that to other optics of governance of concentrating power within a certain class of people that are connected to the president by virtue of location and ethnicity then it gets even particularly worse.”
He also criticised the government’s alleged use of the Cybercrime Act to clamp down on dissent, calling it “undemocratic” and “unnecessary”.
“In most places in the world that at least claim to be democratic, libel is a civil case. That means you don’t go to jail for it. You only pay a fine,” he said.
“The Cybercrime Law that was passed, interestingly by Goodluck Jonathan, is actually an unnecessary repetition because Nigeria already has libel laws. They just needed to amend it to include publications on social media.
“Arresting someone for libel is against the ethos of democracy. Part of the Cybercrime Law says insulting the president is a crime.
“In fact, Omoyele Sowore was accused of insulting the president during a media interview. That’s an anomaly in a democracy.” (The Cable)
