Olu Allen
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has earned a reputation—and even a measure of grudging respect—for confronting some of Nigeria’s deepest economic distortions.
The removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market were not ordinary policy decisions; they were politically costly reforms that successive administrations either postponed or avoided altogether.
Whether one agrees with them or not, they required courage.
But bold policies without equally bold governance reforms amount to an unfinished revolution. It is one thing to ask Nigerians to endure hardship today for a better tomorrow.
It is another to ask them to make those sacrifices while government appears unwilling to sacrifice anything itself.
You cannot prescribe a bitter pill to a patient while refusing to perform the surgery that will save the patient’s life.
That is the contradiction at the heart of Nigeria’s reform programme.
The Elephant in Government
President Tinubu has shown courage in dismantling parts of an old economic order.
What he has not shown with the same urgency is the willingness to condition the government he leads.
Yes, recent cabinet adjustments reduced the size of the Federal Executive Council and merged some ministries. That deserves acknowledgement. But the larger issue remains unresolved.
Government is still expensive.
Every ministry comes with ministers, political aides, permanent secretaries, directors, procurement units, official vehicles, travel budgets, security details, offices and administrative overheads. Individually, these costs may appear insignificant.
Together, they consume resources that should be building roads, equipping hospitals, improving schools and supporting agriculture.
This is not simply about the number of ministers. It is about the cost of maintaining a government whose administrative footprint continues to grow while citizens are repeatedly told to tighten their belts.
If reforms are about making difficult choices, then government itself should lead by example.
The Borrowing Question
The Federal Government has continued to rely on both domestic and external borrowing to finance its budget and support ongoing reforms.
Much of this borrowing has been justified as necessary to fund infrastructure, strengthen social interventions and stabilise the economy during a painful transition.
Those are legitimate objectives.
Yet a significant portion of public revenue is still devoted to debt servicing and recurrent expenditure before meaningful investments reach productive sectors of the economy.
That raises an uncomfortable question.
If subsidy removal and exchange-rate reforms were meant to free up fiscal space, why does government continue to borrow heavily while millions of Nigerians struggle to see tangible improvements in their daily lives?
The answer is not that the reforms were necessarily wrong.
The answer may well be that the reforms have not been matched by equally ambitious reforms in public expenditure.
Why the Benefits Remain Elusive
The hardship Nigerians face today is not caused by fuel prices alone or by the floating of the naira. Those policies carry unavoidable short-term consequences.
But there is another burden that receives far less attention.
Government itself remains too expensive.
Too much money still goes into maintaining institutions instead of strengthening productivity.
Too much is absorbed by administration before it reaches development.
It creates what I call the Swiss Cheese Effect.
Government removes one expensive distortion, yet leaves countless holes through which the expected gains quietly disappear.
Waste, duplication, weak accountability and inefficient spending continue to drain resources that should be improving the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
The result is predictable.
Citizens experience the pain of reform without enjoying enough of its rewards.
That is why many Nigerians have become sceptical. It is not necessarily because they oppose reform. It is because they have yet to see government reform itself.
The Missing Reform
If President Tinubu wants these policies to define his legacy, then the next phase of reform must focus on government itself.
Ministries, departments and agencies should undergo continuous review to eliminate duplication and improve efficiency.
Budget allocations should increasingly reward measurable performance rather than simply preserving existing bureaucracies.
Borrowing should be tied to projects that expand productivity, create jobs and stimulate long-term economic growth, not merely sustain consumption.
Most importantly, transparency should become non-negotiable.
Nigerians deserve to know, in clear and accessible terms, how public money is spent and what returns it is generating.
Reform cannot be something government demands only from citizens.
Government must reform itself first.
Final Word
President Tinubu has already demonstrated that he can take politically difficult decisions. That chapter has been written.
The next chapter is even more important.
History will not remember how many speeches were delivered or how many policies were announced.
It will remember whether those policies improved the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
Today, many citizens feel they are carrying the weight of reform alone while government continues to carry the weight of excess.
That perception is dangerous.
The reforms increasingly look like a sacrifice demanded of the people rather than one shared by the state.
If Nigerians must tighten their belts, government should be the first to loosen its appetite for waste.
Only then will these reforms inspire not just endurance, but confidence.
Only then will Nigerians believe that the pain of today is truly building the prosperity of tomorrow.
Allen writes on public affairs and advocates for good governance.
