Nigeria at 65 – The Fiscal Testament of Bola Ahmed Tinubu
By Tanimu Yakubu
Prologue: Setting the Stage
Fellow Nigerians,
Sixty-five years ago, our fathers lifted the green-white-green flag and sang into history our anthem of freedom. Independence gave us sovereignty in name. But sovereignty is hollow without the power to finance our destiny.
For too long, we lived on borrowed time, borrowed money, and borrowed excuses. We consumed what we did not produce. We borrowed without discipline. We allowed leakages to drain our commonwealth.
Today, we are summoned to maturity.
Independence is no longer enough. What Nigeria needs now is fiscal independence.
I. Breaking with Illusions
The first illusion was petrol subsidy — trillions burnt on the altar of indulgence. We tore it down. Four trillion naira every year is no longer sacrificed to corruption, but redirected to roads, schools, and palliatives.
The second illusion was the multiple exchange rate system — a casino of arbitrage. We ended it. One rate, one market, one truth.
These reforms were not painless. But they were honest. They were necessary. They were the price of a nation choosing courage over comfort.
II. Anchoring Reform in Law
But courage must be written in law, so that tomorrow’s leaders cannot undo today’s sacrifices.
That is why we are amending the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Deficits will now have anchors. Debts will now have ceilings. Every loan must prove its worth in schools built, hospitals equipped, or roads paved. No more borrowing to waste. Only borrowing to build.
We are creating the National Accounts Payables and Receivables Authority, NAPRA — a guardian of liquidity, a sentinel of discipline, ensuring that every naira due to the people is collected, and every debt owed by government is settled.
And we are correcting the Petroleum Industry Act. Today, it siphons 30 percent of NNPCL’s profit oil and gas to frontier exploration, and allows another 30 percent retention, despite operational costs already absorbed. No oversight. No sunset clause. This is haemorrhage. This is leakage written into law. We shall stop it. We shall seal it. Every kobo from oil must serve the people, not private fiefdoms.
III. Equity in Allocation
Fiscal justice is not only about balance sheets. It is about fairness.
That is why we passed the Education Loan Fund Act. No Nigerian child shall abandon a dream because of poverty. Every talent shall find a ladder. Every mind shall find a door open.
And that is why we are pressing for Local Government financial autonomy. It is still in the pipeline, but its time has come. For too long, grassroots allocations have been captured. Clinics must rise where people live, not where governors decree. Schools must thrive in villages, not only in capitals. This reform shall free the grassroots.
IV. Building for Generations
What do we do with freed revenues and disciplined budgets? We build.
The Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund is already at work — pooling resources from subsidy savings, private partners, and development financiers. We are laying rails, powering grids, and stretching digital cables into the villages of Nigeria.
Through Executive Orders, we have unblocked oil and gas contracts, opened FX access for manufacturers, and told our industries: government is no longer your burden, it is your partner.
V. Guarding the Purse
Reform without enforcement is illusion. That is why we have tightened TSA, IPPIS, and GIFMIS. Ghost workers are vanishing. Leakages are closing. Ministries now know that every kobo is traceable.
And the Tax and Fiscal Policy Reform Committee is harmonizing levies, closing loopholes, widening the net. The wealthy shall no longer hide. The digital economy shall no longer escape. Taxes shall be fair, broad, and growth-friendly.
VI. From Consumption to Construction
The philosophy is simple:
Consumption is indulgence.
Construction is destiny.
That is why we cut recurrent waste. That is why we ring-fence capital spending. That is why we declare: spend on what builds, not on what burns.
VII. The Fiscal Creed
At 65, Nigeria’s creed must be clear, memorable, and binding.
– We shall no longer consume what we cannot produce.
– We shall no longer run deficits without anchor.
– We shall no longer waste revenue in leakages.
– We shall pursue Local Government autonomy, for equity must reach the grassroots.
– We shall build roads, power, and digital rails before excuses.
– We shall invest in youth as capital, not as burden.
– We shall centralize payables and receivables for honesty.
– We shall broaden the tax base with fairness.
– We shall not mortgage tomorrow for today’s comfort.
– We shall measure greatness by productivity, not by barrels of oil.
This is the Fiscal Testament. This is what it means to be essentially fiscal.
VIII. Call to the Nation
To Government: Cut extravagance. Obey the rules you set. Make every budget a covenant of service.
To Citizens: Pay tax with pride. Demand accountability. See contribution as covenant, not punishment.
To Elites: Release monopoly. End prebendal privilege. Invest in enterprise. For no fortress of privilege is safe in a collapsing state.
Nigeria is not poor. Nigeria is poorly managed. With fiscal discipline, Nigeria can be great. With equity, Nigeria can be just. With sustainability, Nigeria can endure.
IX. The Promise of Fiscal Independence
At independence in 1960, we won the right to govern ourselves. At 65, we must win the power to finance ourselves.
Let it be written of this generation, that under Bola Ahmed Tinubu:
– We turned subsidy into schools.
– We turned debt into discipline.
– We turned revenue into roads.
– And we turned suffering into sovereignty.
For in fiscal discipline lies greatness. And in greatness lies the true promise of independence.
Tanimu Yakubu is the Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation.