Bola Tinubu: I inherited a 'fake life' economy

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Thanks for joining us for this session today where we can talk a little bit about the reforms Nigeria has been underway for the last 3 years since you took power. Um some very difficult reforms, fuel subsidy, naira subsidy removal. Um and I guess the question everyone wonders now is, especially when the progress lags the pain for the population, is the temptation, especially with elections just on the horizon, is the temptation just to open the taps a little bit?

[00:00:33]Uh doubt.

[00:00:36]Yes, that is general thinking of some people who ordinarily they expect to fall.

[00:00:47]The reform is a very difficult decision, but necessary for the country.

[00:00:53]We cannot continue to spend our future generations' endowment when before they were born.

[00:01:07]It is very necessary to reset, recalibrate, and reform the economy.

[00:01:15]It is a fake life to think you can in a global economy continue the subsidy that is wasteful.

[00:01:27]It's an encouragement encouragement to falsification of papers, smuggling.

[00:01:41]And that is a very critical situation for the country.

[00:01:46]When you look at the economic problem of the country, and you see that you are almost going bankrupt.

[00:01:59]State of the 36 states.

[00:02:03]27 of them were unable to pay the salaries of the workers.

[00:02:10]Where is the money?

[00:02:12]Yeah, oil producing.

[00:02:14]You are earning.

[00:02:17]You are giving.

[00:02:19]Well, you have no refinery that is functional.

[00:02:24]It is not possible to continue with that uh trend.

[00:02:30]It is difficult.

[00:02:32]It is painful.

[00:02:35]But just like uh a human human reproduction process, that is a woman carries pregnancy, enjoy the pain of labor, and with very big smile when you see a live child.

[00:03:04]>> [applause] >> The reforms obviously took more than 9 months.

[00:03:09]And they they they're still very much very much underway.

[00:03:14]But but you have some history in in taxation. Um you've done tax reform in in Lagos state when you were government there. So you understand how important it is. You you liked tax so much that your new finance minister is the architect of your recent tax reforms. In fact, he's sitting here in the front row. We we had the opportunity to talk a little bit about it yesterday. Um but the problem about tax is that people become very demanding. Now, my ancestors taxed the Americans, and they ended up throwing all our tea into the sea, which is not how you make a cup of tea. But, the the point is um the Americans demanded more. And if you start taxing Nigerians, they will start demanding more.

[00:04:09]Nobody wants to pay taxes ordinarily. Nobody.

[00:04:16]Taxation is not friendly to the wealthy, to the middle class, and to the poor.

[00:04:28]Every human being expects development.

[00:04:34]But, the question they don't answer is how do you pay for it?

[00:04:43]You want a very good highway, but you don't want it to go through your land.

[00:04:50]How do you develop?

[00:04:52]You want good hospital, well-equipped hospital, and you don't want to pay taxes.

[00:05:02]How do you care for the vulnerable?

[00:05:04]And how [clears throat] do you protect the future of of the children?

[00:05:09]How do you even research and develop pharmaceutical industry?

[00:05:15]We remember COVID-19.

[00:05:20]You remember what happened to the world at large.

[00:05:25]So, in a world that you cannot predict what exactly you will do, you must think from where the source and application of fund should be engineered.

[00:05:46]Tax is a priority.

[00:05:48]A citizen that pays taxes is a citizen.

[00:05:53]Whether corporate or individual.

[00:05:58]If you are not a taxpayer and not exempted, then you are not a citizen.

[00:06:06]Fantastic.

[00:06:07]So, you you let's assume that you win a second term.

[00:06:14]You will be in your most politically potent moment. Clinton did his best work in the first 2 years of his second term.

[00:06:23]President Obasanjo in Nigeria did a lot of his deep reforms in the first 2 years of his second term. What would you do in the first 2 years of your second term?

[00:06:33]Do more work.

[00:06:37]More challenges are there.

[00:06:39]The The world won't wait for anybody.

[00:06:43]You have to continue to reset and rethink.

[00:06:48]Challenge intellectual curiosity of you as a government.

[00:06:55]The philosophy I came with in governance is believing that the hallmark of a transformative leader is the ability to take decisions, do what you do at the time it has to be done on behalf OF THE PEOPLE.

[00:07:19]>> [applause] >> IF YOU IF YOU meet that means that curve, you are not on the path to success.

[00:07:30]And that's what I believe.

[00:07:32]First time, took her hard decisions regardless of pain.

[00:07:40]Stop reading newspapers commentary because I knew I was going to get a big pushback and I did. I was sitting on a you know, hot burner.

[00:07:55]But, we made the call.

[00:07:57]Today, there's a very bright light at the end of the tunnel.

[00:08:01]The economy stable, the naira is stable, predictable.

[00:08:06]Planners can do you know, reasonable budgets.

[00:08:10]They can plan their lives well.

[00:08:14]The children are in school. The vulnerable are being helped. We have faith that direct air transfer to very poor households you know, uh right now going on are able to support education for those students ordinarily who would stay out of school because their uh parents cannot afford school fees.

[00:08:43]They are now um even giving them allowances and off keeps for their school.

[00:08:52]Um now, my my favorite United States president is um Theodore Roosevelt. He really protected the citizens, the the consumers, broke up Standard Oil.

[00:09:03]My favorite South Korean president is uh General Park. He really built up domestic national champions. He protected big business in South Korea.

[00:09:12]Yes. What what do we need to do most?

[00:09:14]Who needs most protection in Nigeria? Is it consumers and citizens or is it big business?

[00:09:21]Protection.

[00:09:23]I will remove the word protection.

[00:09:26]I'll classify it as support. Mhm.

[00:09:30]Support for the big business for them to be able to make revenue and create jobs necessary. For example, a Dangote Group and others.

[00:09:42]And how can I simulate the production process?

[00:09:47]Okay.

[00:09:48]I decided to build dishes with infrastructure.

[00:09:55]Things that if we plant 47 years, 45 years back, and they couldn't do. I embark upon that.

[00:10:03]Open 800 km of waterfront road, Calabar coastal road.

[00:10:13]So, that I can create opportunity for those who will stay in and enjoy tourism in Nigeria. It's a beautiful country if you know how to use it.

[00:10:26]That's one area.

[00:10:29]Then, what do I do with that road work?

[00:10:35]I chose to use cement being produced in Nigeria, a concrete road.

[00:10:41]So, that I don't have to import bitumen and scan, you know, give foreign exchange to a non-productive sector of the economy.

[00:10:55]The steel being used is made in Nigeria.

[00:10:59]So, my philosophy is Nigeria first.

[00:11:07]And then to move forward, well, even before the advent of this app uh crisis that could have created instability.

[00:11:22]Look at what a Dangote Refinery is.

[00:11:27]He's a risk risk taker. He has invested in an audacious you know, a refinery.

[00:11:39]What should my government do? Support him, encourage him.

[00:11:43]So, for that crude being produced in Nigeria is Nigeria dominated. It's Nigeria crude. So, give him crude in Naira.

[00:11:57]You don't have to you know, go through letter of credit and bureaucracy and make, you know, uh foreign exchange difficult for him.

[00:12:06]Give it to him in Naira.

[00:12:09]Fantastic. The The coastal road, let's talk about that because it it opens a lot of possibilities.

[00:12:15]>> Yes.

[00:12:15]>> Obviously, the South-South region historically marginalized because of the the civil war, the traces of which can still be felt. Um is this a chance a little bit like connecting Manchester to London? You can You can connect the eastern part of the country which has so many vibrant entrepreneurs which no one knows about to the financial muscle of Lagos. You're really creating a new country in a way.

[00:12:40]To me that is the interpretation.

[00:12:44]And that is the philosophy behind it.

[00:12:47]Inclusiveness.

[00:12:49]All of us together as a Nigerian must be patriotic to understand that.

[00:12:55]You have no control where you are born.

[00:13:00]Your parents could be Igbo.

[00:13:02]My parents could be Yoruba.

[00:13:04]You have no control of that.

[00:13:07]So, where you find yourself is your home.

[00:13:11]This country is ours. We must build it together.

[00:13:19]We're in a very turbulent time uh geopolitically. Um I I can't be alone here to have woken up on Christmas Day, very surprised to see that the United States had bombed northern Nigeria. Um, there are more pragmatic French military partnerships happening, um, where states in coastal, uh, West Africa concerned about what's happening in the Sahel are are reaching out now to the French.

[00:13:48]Benin recently and in December also to to foil a coup attempt. Um, i- is this a an era of pragmatic partnerships?

[00:13:58]How are you working with the US? How are you working with France? And how are you working with African partners to guarantee the security which is so badly needed not just in northern Nigeria, but in in the region? Those are things, no, security challenges will always be there.

[00:14:14]Uh, those are things you cannot do alone.

[00:14:19]You can't operate the world in isolation. Even Trump as bold as he is, he's in China, he's in China. He's talking about them on Taiwan. So, who am I in Nigeria to say I will do it alone? I must embrace my neigh- neighbors. I must pursue pragmatic collaboration, uh, uh, partnership, which is very necessary to assist and make progress and enhance the security of life and properties of our people.

[00:14:56]And that is what is very, very necessary, uh, for the region. And then in ECOWAS, Nigeria is a big brother.

[00:15:07]In Africa, we are the fact lady.

[00:15:12]We must sing the tune.

[00:15:14]We must sing the right tune for others to pay attention to.

[00:15:19]And that is what we are doing.

[00:15:21]Th- there was a period of asleep the intervention in Liberia when people really sort of respected Nigerian military muscle and as you say you you were you were considered the big brother in the region. I think maybe over the last decade Nigeria has lost some of that diplomatic heft. How how can we bring it back?

[00:15:40]It is there.

[00:15:43]It is there.

[00:15:45]People might think because you know the narrow path of the challenges that we face today because it was an indoor program for us.

[00:15:56]We were empty.

[00:15:58]Zaire in crisis You have Sudan in crisis.

[00:16:07]We have stabilized West Africa to some extent.

[00:16:11]And that was it was a quick quick action for any intruder intruder in Benin Republic. And I I didn't we stand for that.

[00:16:21]I didn't even ask ask anybody.

[00:16:24]There we go.

[00:16:25]So You have to be quick and fast.

[00:16:29]Uh Nigeria is still there.

[00:16:36]Collaboration with trainings and support Yes, challenges will be always uh be there.

[00:16:47]There are troublemakers all over.

[00:16:51]And when you are making changes that are changes we are getting some uh people out of work of folk of you know uh corruption and all of that. You'll be challenged.

[00:17:06]What's You have to just be focused and be alert.

[00:17:12]Fantastic. Nigeria is ready. It's ready.

[00:17:16]Changing at the top table.

[00:17:18]Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for His Excellency President Bola Tinubu. Thank you.