Omokri: Economy fully on rebound with Tinubu’s reforms

The economy is rebounding because the reforms by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are already yielding fruits, a former presidential aide has said.

Mr. Reno Omokri, in a statement yesterday, gave statistics of the progress being made.

He urged critics of the government to be more objective and patriotic.

He said: “The reforms are working. Nigeria has had four uninterrupted consecutive quarters of trade surpluses for the first time, meaning that we now export more than we import.

“Nigeria has achieved a new record in its trade balance, with an unprecedented N14.07 trillion trade surplus by half year 2024.”

He explained that the adjustments were necessary to curb the fiscal wastes that benefitted a few businessmen to the detriment of most Nigerians.

Omokri explained: “The reforms in Nigeria were necessary to stop wastage, such as the $1.5 billion used to defend the Naira monthly, the $15 billion expended on fuel subsidy annually, and the wanton importation of products we could manufacture in Nigeria by opportunistic importers.”

Referring to the weekend comment by music icon David Adeleke, aka Davido, that the “Nigerian economy was in shambles,” Omokri said the comment was inaccurate and inappropriate.

He explained that the stock market would be down if the economy were not recovering.

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“On Thursday, March 28, 2024, the Nigerian Stock Exchange crossed 104,562.06 All Shares Index, a 39.84% increase year-to-date, making it the second-best performing exchange in Africa,” he said.

He referred to the record-breaking outing of another music icon, WIZKID, whose latest album, MORAYO, was released on 22 November. Within 24 hours, he received 12.2 million streams on Spotify Nigeria, evidence that things were looking up in the country.

Omokri argued: “Streaming music is purchased with disposable income. People do not have disposable income in an economy in shambles, not to mention breaking streaming records, especially on Spotify, where the average streaming cost is $10.99 monthly.

“How many singers have broken streaming records in Venezuela or Argentina? Those economies could be said to be in shambles, not Nigeria.”

Omokri recognised that the reforms had come with short-term pains but said the government had rolled out palliative programmes to alleviate the people’s suffering.

He said: “The reforms have come with some short-term challenges, which are understandable. Nevertheless, steps have been taken to cushion their effect on Nigerians and raise their purchasing power, including increasing the minimum wage by 140% from N30,000 to N70,000, which is probably why our youths had the power to help WIZKID break streaming records.

“For the first time in Nigeria’s history, student loans have also been introduced for students of federal and state-owned tertiary institutions. Conditional cash transfers have been paid and are still being paid to the poorest of the poor.”

Omokri referred Davido to the success of his father, Mr Adedeji Adeleke, in the Nigerian business environment, contending that this could not have happened in a hopeless economy.

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“Davido’s father recently testified of the breakthrough in his investments in Nigeria in multiple fields. Mr Adedeji Adeleke gave a good report on how his $2 billion power plant in Nigeria is thriving and has blossomed to the point where he generates 15% of Nigeria’s electricity,” he said, adding, “May God bless him for that testimony, which is at variance and contradicts what his son, Davido, said to the world about Nigeria’s economy being in shambles.”

Omokri urged Davido and other critics to be more objective and patriotic in assessing the country’s situation. “I urge Davido to learn from Rihanna, who never talks down on her country and instead uses her celebrity to promote Barbados and project her positively to the world. Rihanna was named a national hero and cultural ambassador for Barbados in 2018.”

He said: “It is rather disappointing for a young man whose uncle is a governor and should know better. Even worse, he said that to a foreign audience in a foreign country. Davido may have US citizenship, but that does not mean he should de-market Nigeria.”

Restating the need for an objective assessment of the country, he said, “Regardless of anyone’s disposition towards Nigeria’s current leadership, we must understand that leaders come and go, but Nigeria remains. You can attack a leader you do not like or are politically opposed to. But you should never de-market your country. Because even if you have a U.S. passport, your value as a Nigerian, whether in the diaspora or the home front, is tied to Nigeria’s value.