Ezekwesili credits Tinubu with easing economic volatility but bemoans poor living standards

FORMER Education Minister, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, has given President Bola Tinubu’s administration credit for making progress in stabilising Nigeria’s macroeconomic environment, while warning that significant structural problems remain.

Ezekwesili spoke during an appearance on 60 Seconds with Kay, a News Central television programme.

She said one of the notable improvements under the current administration was the relative calm in the foreign exchange (FX) market, which she attributed to greater reliance on market-driven policies.

According to her, the government could be credited for “getting a hold of macroeconomic stability,” particularly in the management of the FX market.

However, she said the improvement in economic indicators should not be mistaken for a corresponding improvement in living standards.

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Ezekwesili argued that although official inflation figures have moderated, Nigerians continue to face severe pressure from high prices and a rising cost of living.

She also criticised the policy decisions that contributed to the earlier inflation spike, saying the surge was avoidable and resulted from poor coordination of economic policies.

The former minister said Nigeria’s economic difficulties also reflected deeper structural weaknesses that successive policy choices had failed to address.

“We are suffering from structural misalignment,” she said, arguing that several aspects of the country’s economic policy framework still require correction.

She further identified the operation of multiple budgets as another weakness in Nigeria’s public financial management system.

Turning to poverty and elections, Ezekwesili said widespread economic hardship has influenced how millions of Nigerians perceive political participation.

She estimated that about 64 percent of the population, equivalent to approximately 145 million people, are poor and largely preoccupied with meeting their daily needs.

As a result, she said governance becomes a major concern for many poor Nigerians mainly during elections, which she described as an opportunity to obtain immediate financial benefits.

“They don’t know they are voting for four years,” she said, arguing that some voters focus more on what they can receive on election day than on the consequences of their choice for the next four years.

Ezekwesili also questioned the composition of Nigeria’s upper class, saying the country’s social structure differs from what obtains in a conventional society.

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She said an upper class would ordinarily be made up of distinguished and productive members of society, but argued that some Nigerians who claim elite status have little productive contribution to show for it.

“So, it is a very dodgy class to talk about,” she said. She added that Nigerians at the lower end of the income ladder are nevertheless among those who consistently participate in elections by turning out to vote.