A COUNTRY’S UNFINISHED AUDIT OF PUBLIC TRUST AND NIGERIA ECONOMIC REFORMS 

By AVM (RTD) AKUGBE IYAMU MNSA fsi

Nigeria has had many reforms since independence with with each structurally different. From structural adjustment, market liberalism and guided privatisation, the current reforms has never released the state by state impact but only the overall impact in the most muddled up shape. The reforms have only been seen in the macroeconomic with huge gaps that are yet to transform to economic development.

While macroeconomic reforms reflect the health of a structural change, the relationship with micro systems is very vital because correction is not causation. For instance, UBER the ride hailing firm left Nigeria after 12 years stating evolving business priorities and investment focus.

No matter how we look at it, it is not a good publicity for the reforms because companies like UBER represents global brand that give a country a sense of being part of the global community. The clearly revealed the lack of adequate safety net for business development.

The reform is further complicated by the unexpected events in the strait of Hormuz and its devastating consequences on energy and regional economic crisis. A situation that has compounded the challenges arising from disruptions of the global supply chain supply since COVID-19 pandemic.

The eventual success of any reform is a function of where majority of Nigerians draw the most benefits at any point in time. Added to this is the soundness of the policy being implemented and the credibility that follows the intention of the actors.

The headstart is the ability to connect with the grassroots because unemployment, hunger and poverty are potential unifying factors that affects other areas of the economy substantially.

Reforms must provide adequate solutions to mitigate the adverse effects on the poor or prepare them to cope with the hardship, pains and recovery from the life saving surgery.

Nigeria reforms gains are mainly upstream and do not reflect in the lives of citizens directly or assuage their growing pains from escalating economic crisis and reducing disposable income. The underlying principles that provide the winning formula in any reforms are often missed although they are always in plain sight. My first assertion is that a country must address 3 tripod of employment, hunger and poverty.

Employment for citizens are the bane of Nigeria reforms. Employment is the trigger against hunger and poverty including insecurity because it represents the total number of people in a productive areas to earn a living. According to NBS statistics, unemployment in Nigeria currently stands at 4.3%.

Hunger on the otherhand is the physical need for food. In this requirement, Nigeria ranked 115 out of 123 with a score of 32.8 in the 2025 Global Hunger Index. This is considered a serious level of hunger with 19.9% of the population undernourished, 33.8% of children aged between 0 and 5 stunted and 10.5% dying before they attain the age of 5. Overall, 30 million Nigerians face food insecurity due to surging inflation, conflicts and climate shocks.

The reforms should be positively addressing this anomalous situation.

In Nigeria, poverty represents the state or conditions of lacking financial resources and other essentials needed to make a basic standard of living. It is also the condition of lack of access to healthcare, clean water, housing and education.

For proper understanding, multidimensional poverty in Nigeria reveals the lacking in multiple core areas of wellbeing at the same time such as education, health and living standards. No country has ever developed if the reforms do not address these canker worms.

For reforms to be termed as a success, it does not need to be ultimate or 100%. Anything from 30% upward would be more than adequate for a start. Such pathways have been so consistent globally that it has become a law.

There is nothing wrong with any reform when properly designed and transparently implemented. They can be effective instruments for economic engineering and social protection.

The uncomfortable conclusion of Nigeria reforms is a broader expectation of connection between macro and micro economic growth. That is why the country need to construct a credible mechanisms for transferring the macroeconomic benefits to poor Nigerians.

Until Nigeria Nigeria macroeconomic success can be answered with empirical and documentary evidence, the reform will remain less a triumph of economic success. It will remain in the realms of unfinished audit of public trust.

In an economy that suffers from high food prices, declining purchasing power and widespread vulnerability, putting money directly into the hands of generally poor households can be both human and economically rational when properly sequenced and deployed.

A compelling macroeconomic figures in itself does not provide guarantees against poverty, hunger and inequality or the lone dominant of how an economy works.

AVM (RTD) AKUGBE IYAMU MNSA fsi IS THE PRESIDENT ASSOCIATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE PRACTITIONERS AND CONSULTANT ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND ANALYST ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND COMMENTATOR ON NATIONAL ISSUES