Public affairs analyst and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Otunba Lukman Taiwo Bakare urged Nigerians to look beyond short‑term consumer relief and back economic reforms and infrastructure development, warning that the country cannot achieve sustainable growth through what he described as a “voodoo style of governance.” Bakare made the remarks while assessing Nigeria’s socio‑economic outlook ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Bakare argued that the relatively strong currency and lower cost of living experienced in the 1970s and early 1980s were the result of higher domestic production and exports, not government subsidies. At that time Nigeria was a major producer of cocoa, palm oil and groundnuts, supplied much of its own food, and maintained local manufacturing and vehicle‑assembly capacity.
He criticised successive administrations for using public funds to subsidise consumption rather than invest in productive sectors. Citing foreign‑reserve data, Bakare noted that reserves stood at about $43 billion in 2010, fell to roughly $29 billion by May 2015, and rose again to about $36 billion by May 2023 under President Muhammadu Buhari despite economic recessions and the COVID‑19 pandemic.
According to Bakare, the Goodluck Jonathan administration failed to invest adequately in roads, agriculture and power, instead drawing on reserves to support fuel and foreign‑exchange subsidies and imports. He highlighted infrastructure projects associated with the Buhari era—including the Lagos‑Ibadan Standard Gauge Railway, the Lagos‑Ibadan Expressway reconstruction, the Second Niger Bridge, the Bodo‑Bonny Road and Bridges Project, and support for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery—as examples of long‑term investment.
Bakare defended President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, pointing to major road initiatives such as the Lagos‑Calabar Coastal Highway and the proposed Badagry‑Sokoto Superhighway as ways to improve transportation and agricultural distribution. He rejected opposition calls for a return to fuel subsidies, noting that Nigeria’s 2024 budget is about $37 billion with a $10 billion deficit, and adding that a $10 billion subsidy would place additional pressure on public finances.
Calling for greater accountability, Bakare urged Nigerians to demand regular updates and visual evidence of highway progress from Minister of Works David Umahi. He warned that abandoning structural reforms after the 2027 elections would undermine sustainable development, emphasizing that “no country develops with magic; you must pass through due process to build a nation.”
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
