Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, arguing that the sharp devaluation of the naira has impoverished Nigerians and contributed to the country’s position as the world’s poverty capital.
Obasanjo made the remarks on Wednesday during a keynote interview at the ongoing Financial Times Africa Summit 2026 in London, United Kingdom.
The former president faulted the pace and impact of the currency devaluation, saying the sharp decline in the value of the naira had significantly reduced the purchasing power of Nigerians.
“We do not live in isolation as a country. We interact with the rest of the world. And overnight, you devalue the currency by 300 per cent. The naira went from N500 to a dollar to N1,500 to a dollar.
“What that meant was that every Nigerian is made poor by 300 per cent. That made Nigeria to become the poverty capital of the world, which means Nigeria has the largest number of poor people in the world”.
“You cannot say to me that that is good for Nigeria. You cannot say to me that that is good for us in any sense,” Obasanjo said.
SOURCE: Obasanjo