In this interview, a former military head of state, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) highlights some of his experiences in office, what transpired before and after the civil war, and restates his belief in a united Nigeria.

You are committed to Nigeria’s unity; how did you take it when the civil war broke out?

I grew up with other Nigerians in a little village called Wusasa. It is Hausa community, but honestly, we knew one another. We either attended church together, or if you were a Muslim, you would go to mosque together, whether you were Hausa, Yoruba, or whatever. The unity of this country is certainly something for me.

I have always said that if there’s no secession, there wouldn’t be a break out and there wouldn’t be a question of civil war because it got to the stage that the situation was getting pretty clear that a part of the country, the South-east wanted to secede.

My duty and profession at that time demanded to make sure that we kept the country together. And that was how it happened.

I had an experience of crisis in some African countries, especially the Congo. I served twice in the Congo and saw the brutality and suffering of the people, but little did I know that a few years later, one was going to face the same problem. We had to do whatever we could to keep the country together.

I can assure you that it was not done out of joy but to make sure that at least we would be able to live together after resolving the problem. That was what we did.

The soldiers were given what we called a list of dos and don’ts like all the Geneva Convention instructions in any international conflict. There were about 12 conditions, such as not permitted to fight against old people, women, children etc. It was only against those who took up arms against you; that’s all. But unfortunately, it happened.

If given another opportunity, what would you have done differently?

I don’t think I would have done anything differently. Every effort was made to make sure that the situation did not degenerate into a breakaway. I had a duty to make sure that the breakup of the country did not happen. We had to fight for two and a half years and made sure that there was no interference from outside. There was no question of allowing any nation or power to get involved in our crisis. If you remember, in the Congo you had United Nations forces made up of Nigerian troops and others from other parts of Africa to deal with the problem. 

At least we were able to deal with that problem and make sure we were able to live again as a people. So, I couldn’t have done it differently.

There are still agitations in the South-east for a Republic of Biafra. Does it mean that the three Rs that were declared after the civil war failed to make any impact? What is your message to the people of that region? 

The Rs stand for reconciliation, rehabilitation and reintegration, and of course, reconstruction.

The instruction I gave to the fighting troops after the war was, ‘having fought your brothers and sisters, I want you to be soldiers of peace. Do whatever you can to help them get back to their homes and places; and give whatever assistance to them.’ 

Despite what happened, a lot of courageous Igbo people that lived in the North went back to Kaduna, Kano, Jos etc and got back their properties, which some of their friends had kept for them. They got them back almost immediately. The troops helped to transport them to various parts of the country.

There was no question of trial. Everyone was given the opportunity to go back if they wished. But I gave a special instruction to soldiers, especially officers because they knew that they should not have gone against the government. That was where a few retirements were made.

I had Mr Ukpabi Asika, a brilliant nationalist as administrator and gave him all the assistance he needed. For example, we gave assistance to get the schools going. There was also the medical side, etc. A lot of things were done so that at least you could start getting the reconciliation and integration so that people would be able to go back to various parts of the country. 

On my message for the people of the South-east, I would say that the civil war has ended and Republic of Biafra is no more because people have accepted to be reintegrated as Nigerians. Do you want me to sort of say they should continue? No. Don’t ask that question. 

At the end of the civil war, the Newsweek magazine described you as the equivalent of Abraham Lincoln of the United States.  What do you say to that?

I remember this question of comparing me with Abraham Lincoln. I remember that during the time, somebody called Mr Martin Dent and gave me a book about the American civil war, but because of what was happening, I had no time to read it until towards the end. 

When I read that book, I said to myself that what was happening in Nigeria was very much like the American civil war. It was so uncanny.

Honestly, if I had read that book before we prosecuted the Nigerian civil war, if anybody had said that I was trying to make myself look like Abraham Lincoln, I would have found it very difficult to say there was no comparison between us.  The only difference was that at the end of it, I was able to continue with the reconciliation and getting the country through. So, sometimes I say to myself that I don’t mind being called the Abraham Lincoln of Nigeria because we had a similar situation and we were able to achieve the same result. 

I remember that one English journalist asked why I thought the war was over —what if the people continued with guerrilla warfare? But thank God there was no guerrilla.  

Let me deviate a little bit. I thank God that when the war ended, I did not capture Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu because I would have probably found it very difficult to handle with public opinion that would have encouraged me to deal with him. This is because I knew that I would have done everything to save his life. But would it be the same thing if it was the reverse?

We heard so many versions of what transpired between you and Ojukwu in Aburi, Ghana. We want to hear from the horse’s mouth. What actually happened? Did you agree to a confederation?

Well, Ojukwu used to say, “On Aburi we stand” and I would say, “From Aburi you will fall.”

The story of Aburi is that we had been trying everything to be able to meet in Nigeria to resolve all the unfortunate things that happened – the killings and all the katakata after the January 15 coup. I was to go to Ibadan the following day, but I was informed that I could not go because there was a reception for officers coming into the brigade – officers like me being posted to that brigade and others from the brigade being posted out. There was a reception by the brigade commander for officers like me and others and I had to attend on that Friday night to ensure that I did the correct thing in that unit. So, that evening I went for the reception, and when it ended, I moved to Ikeja to stay for the night. 

Unfortunately, late that night, there was commotion. I was wondering what it was, but nobody told me anything. And I was to take over the battalion the following morning. Then there was movement of troops and vehicles in the unit. After some time, it died down. But after another two to three hours, there was greater movement and commotion and I was wondering what was happening. There was a beagle calling all the troops to a master parade. I was wondering and looking through the window to see what was happening.  Luckily, I saw one of the officers, the adjutant of the unit, Captain Martin Ademo, now late. He later became a General. I saw him passing by the duplex, a temporary quarter that I was to stay since the commanding officer’s residence was not ready yet for occupation.

I asked what was happening but he wouldn’t say anything, so I decided to go down and find out. When I met him and asked what the commotion was about, he said General Aguiyi Ironsi, who was the General Officer Commanding (GOC), came and told them that there was some crisis in town affecting the prime minister, Tafawa Balewa and Okotie Eboh, the finance minister and he had come to seek some assistance to see if he could deal with the problem. My first reaction was: Why Ironsi? Why not the brigadier because the chain of command should have come through him? Ironsi should have told the brigadier, who would have related to the battalion commander. 

However, I asked where he was and he said he was at the master parade area. So I had to change into civil clothes to see what was happening. When we got there, he briefed me, saying that he wanted some units to be prepared so that they could go and deal with the situation. When he finished, he asked if there were questions. 

I did not know that by that time, all the senior officers from my school —Maimalari, Kur Mohammed, Abo Baladinma, Yakubu Pam – had been killed. One of my good friends, Arthur Unegbe, from Ozobulu was also killed and I didn’t know.

I went and I got the Quarter Master to get me some military uniforms, boots, hat etc and I went into town. Luckily enough, we were able to deal with the coup in Lagos. But in Kaduna, they succeeded in killing the premier, his wife and other officials. They were certainly in command, but at least in Lagos, which was the headquarters, we were in charge. I was able to get all the other units to make sure that at least they did not go along with what had just happened. That was how I got involved. I tried to get things under control.

However, it got to a stage when the leadership could not do anything to put things right. But we tried to see if we could meet within the country. 

Of course, Ojukwu said that with what happened, he could not be sure of his safety. He asked if we could also go to the East or Mid-west, which was supposed to be neutral, for a meeting since the whole thing seemed to be North versus East.

We got one of the British Airways aircraft for us to meet in the air or on one of the British naval ships. Every effort was made, both by Nigerians and the British for us to meet, but in the end, we had to agree to meet in Aburi. That was where it all started.

I think we went there early January. And as far as I am concerned, we were going for that meeting so that we could agree as military officers.

When I went, I did not take my secretary to the government and officials like advisers. But of course, Ojukwu had a different intention, so he came with all his advisers and prepared a memorandum, which he wanted to be the solution to the problem, as if we were to do an agreement in a class. I said no. 

I joked with him and said he came with a pink solution paper. At our training in senior courses, students wrote on a white paper, but the staff had another green paper or something, and the solution paper was usually pink. 

It was from his paper that he was reading all the conditions, things he wanted done. We discussed them. We had two days there. The agreement was that when we got back, I would be the one to make a statement on the areas we agreed on.

Unfortunately, I was down with a very serious fever; and honestly, I could not do anything. As soon as Ojukwu got back, he made a statement on what was agreed. I had not seen the document he was using. He made a statement that we had agreed to part or something like that. And early in the morning, David Ejoor called to tell me what Ojukwu had done (I was still on a sickbed).

I asked if that was what we agreed and he said no. That was how the confusion started. Of course, when I got better, we disagreed because that was not the agreement. We were going to discuss most of these things in Nigeria; however, that did not happen. So we had to ensure that something was done. 

Ojukwu then started doing all sorts of things, disobeying federal government’s instructions, taking over government’s revenue, all the rolling stock from Port Harcourt and hijacking the Nigerian Airways’ aircraft etc.

A lot of things were happening. Security-wise, people were disappearing etc and the fault was put on northern soldiers. The information was that there were some elements among the recruitment made at that time. There were some bad eggs using the opportunity of being in the military to settle scores. 

Ojukwu said his Constituent Assembly said he could break away to form Biafra.

From some of the intelligence I was receiving, it was just a step to the next thing. That was when I created a state of emergency and 12 states to make sure that no region in Nigeria was marginalised because there was the fear of the monolithic North. And the minority group in the East, Biriye, Briggs and others did not want to go along with the agreement given to Ojukwu. They personally came to me several times. I created 12 states to make sure that no place is too big or too strong to threaten the unity of the country.

Lagos State was made up of Lagos central, Epe, Ikeja and Badagry, that was for the old colony of Lagos to become a state of its own. That was probably one of the reasons that after the civil war, the security situation made us to think of establishing a new capital in Abuja so that at least the federal government and a state would not stay in one place. We knew that Lagos was going to remain the commercial capital of the country, as well as the engineer of national activities.

Shagari was my commissioner for finance, and one of the instructions I left for him was that when they were doing the budget, he should make sure that he had some money kept for planning and building the infrastructure of the future capital of Nigeria in Abuja.

Not that I didn’t want to return the country to democracy, but when I was about to do it, politicians had started going at each other. You can remember the popular statement, “If you Tarka me, I Dabo you, if you Dabo me, I Tarka you”.

Honestly, I did not want a sort of situation reflective of what happened before the first coup. 

I don’t know what version you heard, but in the end, we had to meet in Benin, me and all the governors at the time to discuss the Aburi agreement and put it in the true context. We invited Ojukwu to be there but he did not come. The only thing I included, which probably made him not to accept it, was that there was no chance for any part of the country to secede without the agreement of two-third of the members of the group.  But as soon as we left, Ejoor told me that Ojukwu came to find out what it was.

You presided over Nigeria when the economy of the country was very good. Would you say you used the money judiciously? How do you reconcile the story that you left penniless when your government was overthrown?

I left penniless? But Mr Goodheart, the British parliamentarian, said that when I was leaving Nigeria, I took half of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Yes, we had a lot of money. During the civil war, we made sure that we did not destroy any of the facilities. We did whatever we could not to damage our oil infrastructure. So, soon after the civil war, they were able to come back and we were able to have a reasonable amount of money. And I can tell you in all honesty that there was discipline in my government. I can tell you that any fund I ever held as head of state was roughly 83,000pounds. That was before we changed to the naira for security reasons. I was forced to do it for the sake of Nigeria.

All we did was in the public interest. I know I was accused of helping certain countries like Grenada, Barbados, but we did the same thing in West Africa too. We helped as much as we could, even at home.

I can say with absolute authority that I may not have anything today, but honestly, at least I have a clear conscience. I thank Idi Amin and Eyadema for the help they gave me to have money to start off with. 

You had hints that you were going to be overthrown but you didn’t do anything about it; why?

Who said I didn’t do anything about it? When I was told by the security details that something like that was going to happen, the only two names I was given were people who were supposed to be very close to me – my commander, brigade of guards, Joe Garba and Tony Ochefu. Both of them were from my state, Benue-Plateau. Of course I had to be suspicious of those two names. They were from my state and also Christians, so I could not absolutely believe it. I tried to get Ochefu but could not despite every effort I made. And Joe Garba swore by heaven and earth.

These were people who had helped me to ensure that the country was one; those I trusted. I had to go to Kampala for a meeting. I was the one who made sure that the meeting of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was attended by most of the countries so that we could deal with the problem of Africa. As chairman of the OAU, I encouraged most leaders to come so that we could discuss the remaining colonial problem in Africa. We tried to do that and people attended. 

I was discussing with the governor that accompanied me to Kampala, the commissioner of police, Farouk Usman, that if the coup happened, as far as I was concerned, it would not create any problem. As far as I was concerned, we would see what happened. My hope was that if God preserved us and we were able to make the 10th year, I would have probably done something about coups and countercoups in Nigeria. That was my prayer. 

Usually, I never attended any meeting late, but Mobutu wanted to see me. I am sure he must have heard about the coup already. I got to the conference late, and as I entered, Idi Amin, who was was the chairman, called me. Mr Mbo, a Cameroonian, the head of the education sector, United Nations education, was giving his speech.

When I went to Idi Amin, he showed me a Reuters slip and I saw the news that my government was overthrown. I said I hadn’t heard anything. My high commission had not contacted me to tell me anything, so probably that might be a rumour.  Soon after, when that was being done, I was whispering to Farouk that the issue we were discussing on the flight to Kampala and what we were afraid of had happened, but he didn’t quite get it. I didn’t seem to be worried at all, but you could see the worry in Farouk’s face. 

That event almost killed the OAU meeting because others started going back. So, I left the meeting place and went to my hotel, and later on to exercise and play some tennis. Honestly, my interest was that Nigeria should continue. 

The following day, I had to give a world press conference. I remembered that during my school days at Barewa College in Zaria, we read Shakespeare, who said, “The world is a stage and all the men and women are merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.”

I didn’t go beyond that because if I did, some of you press people would say he wanted to come back. When I got to that,I said, “Ladies and gentlemen of the press, this is my exit and all I want you to do is to give Nigeria the support you gave me in order that the country will progress. That was that.

I went to the United Kingdom to become a student, which they didn’t like because I was taking my tray to get my breakfast.

When I came back and we were going through all the crises, since I could not physically do anything, we formed an organisation called Nigeria Prays, to pray for peace, stability and well-being of Nigeria. Every Nigerian means something to me, so I thought we needed to pray to God to help us. 

What is happening in Nigeria today would make you feel sad, but let us not give up in praying and making sure we believe in God. 

If you remember, we had a development plan. We started the iron and steel company in Ajaokuta, the petrochemicals in Enugu and the LNG. I was to sign the memorandum of understanding for the LNG to start building four times the size of what was there. We had lots of development – things like Peugeot in Kaduna, and Volkswagen was supposed to be in Lagos, then of course, Steyr in Bauchi, Leylands in Ibadan; and I think Volkswagen in Enugu.

Looking at the situation in Nigeria, what is your advice to the current administration? 

Every government that comes has a responsibility to make the country good for every citizen and every part of the country.

•Say, many people on the streets are walking corpses
•Can’t bear the hardship for 15 years
•FG’s reforms harsh, elitist, unsustainable — Professor Uremadu
•World Bank advice misguided, insulting to millions of Nigerians — ActionAid

Last Tuesday, October 15, 2024, Nigerians got the shock of their lives even as they grappled with hunger and pains occasioned by government policies. The World Bank Senior Vice President, Indermit Gill, declared in Abuja that it would take at least 10 or 15 years for President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms to transform the economy and advised the Federal Government not to waive but continue with the reforms in the said years ahead.

In his special remarks at the Nigeria Economic Summit, the World Bank official said among others that the “oil wealth that should be used for the welfare of all Nigerians, has for too long been used to benefit just the elites. The elites are also being hurt by these reforms that started last year, but they have done very well in the past, and they have built big buffers.

The ordinary Nigerians are being hurt even more, and they were hurt much more by the policies of the past. Nigeria will need to stay the course for at least another 10 or 15 years to transform this economy. It’s very difficult to do these things but the rewards are massive.”

This advice from the World Bank has provoked many Nigerians who rejected it. Nigerians from different strata of life have therefore warned President Bola Tinubu that he would face the threat of implosion by angry citizens should the Federal Government go ahead with the World Bank’s advice to sustain the prevailing stinging reforms for the next 10 to 15 years. They urged President Tinubu to ignore the World Bank, saying there was experiential evidence worldwide, including Nigeria, that the financial institution was not delivering the sustained economic growth, prosperity, and better standards of life it promised with its package.

Nigeria on the throes of catastrophic collapse – Prof Ochonu

A Nigerian academic, historian, author, and professor of African History at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America, Prof. Moses Ochonu, asserted: “We may be on the throes of an implosion, a showdown between suffering Nigerians and their rapacious and unfeeling leaders. The 10-15-year timeline of sustained hardship suggested by the World Bank is humanly impossible to bear or adapt to.

It may come down to a choice between predictable, defeatist death by hunger and heroic death by mass social upheaval, and I warn that it is not too late for Tinubu and his people to defuse the ticking incendiary device of hardship they have cultivated, incubated, and unleashed on Nigerians.

They can still change course and remove the impossible choice of death by hardship and death by uprising. Any people, no matter how resilient and creatively adaptable they may be, have their limits. People are not machines, even machines break down when subjected to stress and tension over a long period.

The World Bank is notorious for prescribing a self-annihilating path of economic reforms to developing countries whose leaders depend on loans to support budgets that are largely mismanaged projects. This pattern of subservience and dependence emboldens the World Bank to recommend harmful reforms to our leaders. The World Bank, we should remember, is a distant hegemonic player with no empathy for Nigerians.

Its only interest is to push for so-called reforms and adjustments that fulfil the ideological fantasies of its Western funders and principals. Past Nigerian presidents since 1999 and even before proved themselves pliable, to various degrees, to the World Bank’s manipulative influence and allowed the institution to influence some aspects of their fiscal, economic, and monetary policies. Sadly, President Tinubu has taken this to unheard-of levels. He has essentially outsourced every facet of his government’s economic policy to the World Bank and its neo-liberal agenda of stripping the poor of subsidies, cushions, and state-funded opportunities to increase the pool of revenue available to political elites and to repay dubious multilateral loans.

Tinubu is the most World Bank-compliant president we have ever had—no question about it. His devotion to the World Bank reform orthodoxy is uncritical and total, and he is blinded to the contradiction in the World Bank’s rhetoric on Nigeria. As long as the World Bank praises their action and they have access to World Bank financial facilities, Tinubu, and his economic team will continue to allow the World Bank people to have it both ways and escape the scrutiny they deserve. The duplicity of the World Bank is numbing. It advances reforms that decimate the Nigerian middle class and intensify the precariousness of the poor, while at the same time claiming that it is not the reforms that are deepening poverty and hardship.

World Bank’s advice not only unacceptable but inhumane — ActionAid

ActionAid Nigeria, AAN, in a reaction by its Country Director, Andrew Mamedu, said: “The recent statement made by the World Bank Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Mr. Indermit Gill at the 30th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES30) in Abuja urging the Nigerian government to sustain its current economic reforms for the next 10-15 years with no clear plans on how it will cater for the people is misguided and insulting to the millions of Nigerians living through unprecedented economic hardship.

This call assumes that continuity and persistence in these policies will yield transformative results, but the evidence tells otherwise. While long-term reform is important, the strategies proposed by the World Bank seem disconnected from the immediate socio-economic realities of Nigeria, especially regarding poverty, weak institutional capacity, and structural economic deficiencies. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been deeply involved in Nigeria’s economy for decades, pushing policies that have done far more harm than good.

The Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) introduced in the late 1980s remains one of the most devastating legacies of this relationship. It crippled our local industries, especially the textile sector, and opened the floodgates for Nigeria to become heavily dependent on imported goods. Before the SAP, Nigeria’s textile industry was a vibrant hub employing hundreds of thousands of workers.

While the World Bank celebrates the unification of Nigeria’s exchange rate as the most effective in 20 years, it has led to severe hardship for citizens, driving inflation to a 28-year high. Additionally, the sudden removal of fuel subsidies without robust compensatory mechanisms has further eroded household incomes. These reforms disproportionately affect Nigeria’s poorest, pushing the country deeper into poverty while global financial institutions and foreign investors reap the benefits of Nigeria’s open economy.
“It is not only unacceptable but inhumane to ask Nigerians to endure 15 more years of suffering in the name of reforms that have historically failed us.

Millions of Nigerians can barely afford food, fuel, or basic services today. Asking them to wait for over a decade for things to get better is an affront to their dignity and a reckless gamble with the nation’s future. The question is, how many Nigerians will be alive till then to reap the benefits of these reforms, what does the future hold for our children who are currently feeling the brunt of the hardship, will there still be hope for them in 15 years’ time?

“Nigerians cannot and will not wait for 15 years for economic policies that will continually inflict hardship. The people of this nation deserve urgent action, not promises of long-term recovery. Every passing day under the weight of these reforms pushes more citizens into extreme poverty and despair.
“We demand that the government rethinks its blind allegiance to the World Bank’s economic blueprint and starts prioritizing the welfare of its people.

“The government must reject the idea that growth must come at the expense of human lives and begin to invest meaningfully in local industries, small businesses, and sustainable economic models that empower Nigerians rather than enslave them. The government must impartially fight one of the root causes of this hardship which is corruption starting with the NNPC as they are at the middle of corruption and responsible for the mismanagement of funds from recent reports of the $300 million ‘bailout funds collected from the Federal Government. Amongst all, accountability to the people must take precedence and reforms must be people-centered.”

Scheme to hold the nation hostage – Gbemre N-Delta activist

A Niger Delta activist, Zik Gbemre, who dismissed the World Bank’s advisory, said: “I do not agree with this, it is a conspiracy aimed at keeping Nigeria perpetually in bondage, in chains and handcuffs. We were told under Ibrahim Babangida’s military administration that if Nigeria devalued her currency, that would end poverty, but since then, Nigerian currency has been worthless. Nigeria’s problems are visible and we do not need a microscope to see them.

There are too many leakages in the public treasury, appointing people without capacity, and with worthless accumulated certificates and degrees/diplomas to head government parastatals and ministries/agencies. Nigeria needs sincere people. If all these wastages are stopped, credible people elected and appointed, Nigeria will overcome inflation, hardship, and poverty. Few individuals control the public treasury.”

An assembly of impostors — Prof Muoboghare

A Niger Delta leader and former Commissioner in Delta State, Prof Patrick Muoboghare, retorted: “The World Bank is an assemblage of first-world fraudsters braying upon the third-world and having her for a success dinner.”

They have taken our govt captive —Egi, activist

An activist, Engr. Mike Egi, added: “Nigerians have no choice, an agent of the World Bank and stooge of imperialism has kidnapped their government.”

It is provocative —West, Bayelsa CLO chair

The chairman of the Civil Liberties Organization, CLO, in Bayelsa State, Mr. David West, declared: “I disagree with the World Bank on its opinion to give President Bola Tinubu administration’s reforms another 10 to 15 years or that Nigerians should continue to endure this extraneous hardship for another 10 to 15 years. It is provoking as a matter of fact.

Nigerians are tired of exercising patience on this suffering. In Europe or elsewhere, the hardship is not equitable to what we are going through here in Nigeria. If what we are passing through happens in any of the European countries, I do not think they will condone it.

Let us not deceive ourselves, Nigerians cannot give the government another 10 years to endure further hardship. Therefore, the federal government should not rely on this postulation by the World Bank, they should abandon it and begin to see how they will bring Nigeria out from this terrible, excruciating, hunger, hardship, and poverty.”

Enemy of Nigeria – Akpan, activist

The Executive Director of COMPPART Foundation for Justice and Peace Building in Akwa Ibom State, Saviour Okon Akpan, said: “When groups like the World Bank give out such advice to countries like Nigeria, the first question I ask is: Is Nigeria an independent country? And to what extent can we exercise such independence? Secondly, from the advice of the World Bank, I have seen the institution as Nigeria’s enemy because if the World Bank is serious about reforms as it claims, it should have put its feet down and stop Nigeria from the menace of borrowing to loot and re-looting the recovered stolen funds.

The World Bank as far as I am concerned does not care about the lives of Nigerians, rather they are interested in protecting the economic interest of their owners through the weaponization of poverty at all fronts, not minding the effects. But what will be their gain by not allowing nations to operate their home-grown economic system within their needs, but based on what the World Bank wants? It is disheartening because our elected representatives, including the President, unfortunately, do not have a clear-cut blueprint and escape strategy to revive the economy.

It will be too touchy for Nigerians – Ovo, economist

Charles Oyo an economist who resides in Warri,, opined: “It is very likely those offering the advice to the federal government do so from the comfort of their air-conditioned offices and houses. They know Nigerians are going through the most severe hardship they have ever had since its creation in 1960. The eastern part of the country suffered more during the civil war no doubt, but as one entity, Nigerians have not had it this tough. The advice from the international agency could be the right step but the realities on the ground do not support it. It will be tough for Nigerians to bear.”

Ploy to keep us in perpetual penury —Professor Uremadu

Professor of Banking & Finance, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, MOUAU, Professor Sebastian Uremadu, described the advice by the World Bank Vice President as hypocritical and anti-people.

Prof. Uremadu said Tinubu’s policies are elitist, retrogressive and unsustainable, regretting that they have rather brought pain on Nigerians. He said: “God forbid such unsolicited advice. In fact, it’s no advice but a prescription of the World Bank to keep us in perpetual penury. Nigerians are already walking corpses. From May 2023 when he unilaterally removed fuel subsidy, things went awry. Fuel subsidy affects everything, once the transportation cost goes up, it can’t come down. There is insecurity everywhere, farmers can’t go to farm again and there’s hunger everywhere.

Tinubu should restore fuel subsidy, no country exists without one form of subsidy or the other. Even America subsidies for her farmers. The President’s policies on taxation are hurting and should not be sustained. Many multinationals are pulling out of Nigeria and even local companies are folding up because they can no longer cope. When you have multiple taxation you are imposing a heavy burden on the people because they are the ones that will eventually pay the tax. So, for me, the World Bank advice is bad. It’s not in the best interest of Nigerians, the people are finding life difficult, we can’t sustain Tinubu’s reforms “ .

Nothing wrong with Tinubu reforms — Ambakederimo, S-South leader

Convener of the South-South Reawakening Group, Elder Joseph Ambakederimo, who differed in his view, said: “Often, we have managed the Nigerian economy in an ad-hoc manner with no one leader willing to take some hard decisions that will pivot the country towards sustainability. The quick-fix measure that we have tried many times was to keep postponing the evil day. President Bola Tinubu’s economic elixir for the country is looking bad for the people with everyone shouting and even asking for the reversal of the reforms until the World Bank President spoke in favour of the reforms, asking us to allow it go through for another ten years or more before we begin to see the results.

We should support the reforms and allow them to take their full course, which should be a one-off pain. The fact that the oil wealth has benefited a tiny majority of Nigerians is no news, but the question is how do we turn the narrative around for the good of the people.

This is where the problem lies because mismanagement and misapplication of resources have become rife. The oil wealth is held down by a few with the majority sulking with very little or nothing, therefore, we must strive to ensure that violators of the management of our common patrimony are punished. This is the only way we can have some respite.”

World Bank not after our interest, should be ignored — COSEYL

President General of COSEYL, Comrade Goolldluck Ibem said: “The activities and advice of World Bank before now have shown that it is an organization that is not interested in the welfare of African countries but rather only interested in advancing her objectives and goals while pretending to care for the country they are advising. The World Bank is the reason the naira is on its knees today. Its advice to the former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida to implement the Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP, led to the galloping devaluation of the naira. Since then, we have not recovered from that huge mistake. President Bola Tinubu should ignore any advice from the World Bank. Any President who wants to succeed must prioritize the interest of his people above any interest from any quarters.”

Rev. Joseph John Hayab, former CAN Chairman, of Kaduna state, said

“Many visiting world Bank chiefs love making anti-people statements whenever they come to Nigeria. Nigerians have not quickly forgotten the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) of the Babangida era, which also came from advice from some international monetary organisations that pushed the country into a poor economic state. These world bodies always advise our leaders to introduce policies that will not yield any positive results. The World Bank and other international groups cannot give leaders of European countries and the USA any economic advice that will make their citizens suffer because they know every responsible government puts its citizens first in every decision and action. Some of their statements do not show respect for our citizens, instead, they are taking our patience for granted and misleading our leaders. I will therefore advise President Tinubu to know that he is the President of many hungry Nigerians and he should find an urgent solution to the acute hunger and poverty in the land. Any economic policy or international advice that will not address hunger, poverty and lift up the standard of living of the common men and women should be discarded. The World Bank and all other international monetary agencies should only advise our government on how to reduce poverty and the gap between the rich and the poor. They must not help to increase the hardship our citizens are facing already which may push the citizens to revolt”.

Suleiman Abdul-Aziz, spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), said

“I think while the World Bank’s advice to sustain the Tinubu reforms may have merit, it is essential to ensure that these reforms benefit all Nigerians and address the current hardships faced by the population. The government must prioritize the welfare of the people and implement policies that promote inclusive growth and development. Nigerians should not have to bear the burden of economic reforms alone; it is the responsibility of the government and international institutions to ensure that the benefits of these reforms are felt by all.

Anthony N Z Sani, former Secretary General of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF):

“Though I know that socioeconomic development which reduces ignorance, poverty and unemployment are not matters of a day’s job, I do not have any alternative course of action beside to suggest that Nigerians have to produce what they need and want, especially when regard is paid to the dwindling fortune of oil as our main source of revenue. Both the volume of oil we produce and the prices which enable Nigerians to consume without production are going down.

Instead of using savings from the withdrawal of subsidies for palliatives which do not go around 10% of the population, it is more productive and helpful to use it for improvement of productivity.”

[]Vanguard]