My Husband Inherited Damaged Nigeria; He’s Not A Magician: Remi Tinubu

“All we inherited are things that had happened many years ago; we are not here to put blame on any administration but to fix what has been damaged.”

Nigeria’s first lady, Remi Tinubu, says her husband, President Bola Tinubu, is working hard to fix a damaged country he inherited, stressing that the president is not a magician who will fix things with the wave of the wand.

“All we inherited are things that had happened many years ago; we are not here to put blame on any administration but to fix what has been damaged,” Mrs Tinubu explained. “My husband is not a magician; he is going to work and I believe and hope that we will have peace in this country; the best is yet to come to us.”

Mrs Tinubu, however, claimed that “a Nigeria of abundance has begun, and to be part of the greatness that God has started in the nation, Nigerians must look beyond their current realities and embrace hope anew.”

The first lady said this at the interdenominational church service to commemorate Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Anniversary on Sunday.

“Good governance can only be impactful if the people follow the example of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who embodied the fruit of the spirit, including love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance and forgiveness,” Mrs Tinubu added.

Mr Tinubu assumed office as Nigeria’s 16th president on May 29, succeeding his party man, Muhammadu Buhari. 

Speaking of one of the problems his government inherited, Mr Tinubu, in his Independence Day speech, described the Central Bank of Nigeria as a den of malfeasance, vowing to expose the rot in the apex bank.

At the Nigerian Bar Association annual conference in September, Mr Tinubu raised the alarm over debt accumulation that left the country servicing debt with 90 per cent of its revenue by his predecessor, describing it as “a path to destruction.”

On his assumption of office, Mr Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy, which saw petrol price soar from N145 to N540 and N617. 

In June, Mr Tinubu ordered the CBN to float the naira, allowing banks to determine exchange rates to the dollar and other foreign currencies, ending years of dual exchange rates in the country.

Though Mr Tinubu’s policies have been lauded by both foreign and local analysts and economic experts, increased petrol pump price triggered food inflation and cost of transportation, with the naira plunging to N1,000 per $1 in September. 

With Nigerians lamenting the adverse effects of Mr Tinubu’s government policies and the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress threatening strike, Mr Tinubu announced Sunday a couple of interventions to cushion the effect of prevailing economic hardship in the country.