The Independent Media and Policy Initiatives (IMPI) has identified Nigerians as the biggest drivers of the economic reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying their resilience and willingness to endure difficult adjustments have helped create the conditions for Nigeria’s emerging economic recovery.
The Abuja based think tank said the sacrifices made by Nigerians since 2023 should not be overlooked as the country moves from a consumption driven model towards greater productivity and investment.
In a policy statement issued on July 31, 2026, titled “Nigerians as Actual Executors of Tinubu’s Reforms as Economy Transits from Consumption to Productivity,” IMPI Chairman, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, said the government could establish the policy framework, but Nigerians were ultimately responsible for absorbing and implementing the changes in their daily economic activities.
“While the administration sets the policy framework, Nigerians are the actual executors of the reform,” Akinsiju said.
He said the resilience, adaptability and patriotism demonstrated by Nigerians during the difficult transition should be matched by greater government accountability and visible improvements in living standards.
“We expect the public’s resilience to be met with genuine government accountability and visible developmental returns, which ultimately translate to the fact that the painful sacrifices made between 2023 and 2026 will serve as the foundational building block for Nigeria’s long term economic independence,” he said.
According to Akinsiju, Nigeria is beginning to show signs of a stronger economic future, with the potential to become Africa’s industrial powerhouse and a major player in the global economy.
He said the country’s economic history had been dominated for decades by dependence on natural resources, structural stagnation and short term policies that prioritised consumption over productivity.
Successive governments, he argued, relied heavily on fuel subsidies, artificial exchange rate controls and multiple FX windows instead of addressing the structural weaknesses limiting production and investment.
Akinsiju said the Tinubu administration represented a significant departure from that approach, describing its reforms as a comprehensive attempt to reposition Nigeria as a competitive, market driven and production oriented economy.
He acknowledged that the initial phase of the reforms imposed severe pressures on households and businesses but argued that emerging macroeconomic indicators suggested the country was beginning to benefit from the adjustment.
“Capital inflows, industrial repositioning, and external rating outlooks collectively demonstrate returning global institutional confidence,” he said.
IMPI described the reform trajectory as following a “J-curve” pattern, in which economic conditions initially deteriorate before the benefits of structural adjustments begin to emerge.
Akinsiju divided the reform period into three phases: the Shock Phase from 2023 to 2024; Stabilisation and Disinflation from 2025 to mid 2026; and the Structural Growth and Jobs phase projected for 2026 to 2030.
He noted that the removal of the petroleum subsidy and exchange rate reforms initially pushed headline inflation above 33 per cent in 2024, while poverty also worsened, with the World Bank estimating that an additional seven million Nigerians fell below the poverty line during the adjustment period.
According to him, however, monetary tightening by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), alongside the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index, helped moderate headline inflation to 15.91 per cent by June 2026.
He added that economic growth had also stabilised, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank projecting GDP growth of between 4.1 and 4.4 per cent for 2026.
Akinsiju said the reforms had also strengthened Nigeria’s external position, with gross foreign exchange reserves reaching about $52 billion as of June 2026.
He cautioned, however, that macroeconomic stabilisation was only the beginning, noting that Nigeria must now tackle structural constraints in electricity, agriculture, infrastructure and other productive sectors.
He cited the World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update as highlighting the country’s transition from repairing its fiscal and external balances to addressing deeper structural impediments to sustainable growth.
“We stand at the precipice of an era where structural adjustments are crystallizing into tangible microeconomic relief. The ground has been laid for an industrial renaissance that will redefine Nigeria’s role on the global stage,” Akinsiju said.
IMPI urged the government to sustain the reform direction while ensuring that the benefits of economic recovery translate into improved livelihoods, employment opportunities and stronger productive capacity for ordinary Nigerians.
