A call for honesty, accountability and a social contract between government and citizens
By Prof Abiodun Ojo
There is a growing contradiction in the Nigerian economic conversation.
Government officials tell Nigerians that difficult economic reforms are beginning to produce results. They point to improved government revenue, increased foreign-exchange liquidity, higher oil production, improved GDP growth and other macroeconomic indicators.
Perhaps some of these improvements are real.
But there is another Nigeria—the Nigeria that ordinary citizens experience every day.
It is the Nigeria of the market woman whose customers can no longer afford what they used to buy. The Nigeria of the civil servant whose salary disappears within days. The Nigeria of the pensioner struggling with food and medicine. The Nigeria of parents who can barely pay school fees. The Nigeria of young graduates searching unsuccessfully for meaningful employment. The Nigeria of manufacturers battling energy costs, foreign exchange and declining purchasing power.
Both realities can exist at the same time.
The economy can improve according to some macroeconomic indicators while millions of households continue to experience economic hardship.
That is precisely why government must stop treating economic statistics as a substitute for people’s lived experiences.
The question Nigerians are asking
The ordinary Nigerian is not necessarily asking government to make everything cheap.
People understand that economies change. They understand that subsidies cannot continue indefinitely. They understand that government needs revenue. They understand that taxation is necessary to finance public services.
The question is much simpler:
“What are we getting in return for all these sacrifices?”
If citizens are asked to pay more taxes, what better services are they receiving?
If electricity tariffs increase, are electricity supply and reliability improving sufficiently?
If petrol subsidies are removed, are transportation costs and household incomes being protected?
If government revenue increases, are hospitals, schools, roads, security and social protection improving proportionately?
If Nigerians are told that the economy is recovering, when will that recovery become visible in the household economy?
These are legitimate questions in any democracy.
The problem with celebrating GDP while ignoring the household
One of the greatest dangers in economic communication is confusing macroeconomic recovery with household prosperity.
GDP can grow while individual Nigerians become poorer in real terms.
Government revenue can increase while families struggle to buy food.
Foreign-exchange markets can become more stable while imported medicines and machinery remain unaffordable.
Inflation can decline from a very high level while prices remain painfully high.
This last point is particularly important.
If inflation falls from 30 percent to 20 percent, that does not mean prices have fallen. It means prices are still increasing, but perhaps at a slower rate.
A government should therefore be careful when telling citizens that things are improving. Nigerians reasonably ask:
“Improving for whom, and measured by what?”
The American comparison exposes the contradiction
There is another issue that deserves serious national discussion.
Whenever governments need to justify taxation, Nigerians are often reminded that citizens in developed countries pay taxes.
That is true.
But taxation in a functioning welfare state is supposed to be part of a broader social contract.
The United States, for example, operates major federal social-insurance programmes including Social Security, which provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits to eligible beneficiaries. Medicare provides health insurance primarily to older Americans and certain other eligible groups.
The important lesson is not that Nigeria should copy America wholesale.
It is that citizens should be able to see a relationship between what they contribute and the public services and social protection they receive.
Nigeria cannot reasonably say:
«“Look at America. Americans pay taxes.”»
and then stop the comparison there.
We should also ask:
What institutional protection does the American citizen receive in return?
What happens when an American worker retires?
What happens when a worker becomes disabled?
What happens to eligible survivors when a breadwinner dies?
What happens when an elderly person requires healthcare?
Nigeria must develop its own appropriate social-protection system, but the principle is universal:
Taxation without adequate public value creates resentment.
The issue is not simply APC
This discussion should also go beyond partisan politics.
The economic difficulties facing Nigeria did not begin in 2015, and they cannot honestly be attributed entirely to one political party.
Nigeria’s problems are structural.
They include dependence on crude oil, weak institutions, inadequate infrastructure, electricity shortages, insecurity, low productivity, poor human-capital development, corruption, weak manufacturing capacity and inconsistent economic policies.
Different governments have contributed to different aspects of these problems.
Therefore, the proper question is not merely:
“What did APC do to Nigeria?”
The more useful question is:
“What have successive Nigerian governments done—or failed to do—to build an economy that works for ordinary Nigerians?”
That question is harder, but it is more intellectually honest.
The problem with celebrating GDP while ignoring the household
One of the greatest dangers in economic communication is confusing macroeconomic recovery with household prosperity.
GDP can grow while individual Nigerians become poorer in real terms.
Government revenue can increase while families struggle to buy food.
Foreign-exchange markets can become more stable while imported medicines and machinery remain unaffordable.
Inflation can decline from a very high level while prices remain painfully high.
This last point is particularly important.
If inflation falls from 30 percent to 20 percent, that does not mean prices have fallen. It means prices are still increasing, but perhaps at a slower rate.
A government should therefore be careful when telling citizens that things are improving. Nigerians reasonably ask:
“Improving for whom, and measured by what?”
Government officials must understand the psychology of hardship
There is also a serious communication problem.
When ordinary citizens see political office holders, senior government officials and political elites living in apparent comfort while they themselves struggle with food, rent, transportation, school fees and healthcare, official declarations of economic success can sound insensitive.
This is not necessarily because every government official is personally responsible for the hardship.
It is because leadership must demonstrate empathy.
A government asking citizens to make sacrifices must itself demonstrate sacrifice, prudence and accountability.
Citizens should not be made to feel that austerity is for the poor while luxury remains the privilege of those in power.
That perception can destroy public trust even when some government policies are economically defensible.
The government should publish a “citizen benefit scorecard”
Instead of simply telling Nigerians that the economy is improving, government should regularly publish a simple, independently verifiable scorecard showing:
– How many new jobs have been created?
– How many Nigerians have moved out of extreme poverty?
– What has happened to real household income?
– What has happened to food prices?
– How much has electricity supply improved?
– What has happened to transportation costs?
– How many kilometres of roads have been completed?
– How many Nigerians have gained access to affordable healthcare?
– How many vulnerable Nigerians are receiving effective social protection?
– How much government revenue is being collected?
– Where exactly is that additional revenue being spent?
– How much is being spent on debt servicing?
– What measurable improvements have resulted from each major reform?
This would change the conversation.
Instead of Nigerians arguing over political propaganda, government and citizens could argue over verifiable evidence.
The government should also be prepared to hear unpleasant truths
A government does not serve only those who praise it.
It must also listen to those who criticise it.
Indeed, responsible criticism can be more valuable to government than political praise.
When citizens say they are suffering, government should not immediately assume that they are enemies of progress.
When economists question a policy, they should not automatically be labelled political opponents.
When journalists expose waste, the answer should be investigation—not intimidation.
When citizens ask how public money is being spent, the answer should be transparency.
Democracy requires government to tolerate uncomfortable questions.
Nigeria needs a new social contract
The ultimate issue is therefore bigger than APC, PDP, Labour Party or any other political organisation.
Nigeria needs a new social contract.
Government must say clearly:
Here is what we are asking citizens to contribute.
And citizens must be able to ask:
Here is what government promises to deliver in return.
That contract should include reasonable taxation, responsible public spending, social protection, accessible healthcare, quality education, reliable infrastructure, security, employment opportunities and transparent governance.
If government needs citizens to make sacrifices today for a better Nigeria tomorrow, then government must present a credible roadmap showing when, how and for whom that better Nigeria will arrive.
The figures must also be honest
Political communication should not be built on exaggerated or inaccurate statistics.
For example, Nigeria’s Debt Management Office reported total public debt of about $99.66 billion as at June 30, 2025, consisting of approximately $46.98 billion external debt and $52.67 billion domestic debt. (“dmo.gov.ng” (https://www.dmo.gov.ng/debt-profile/total-public-debt/5541-nigeria-s-total-public-debt-as-at-june-30-2025/file?utm_source=chatgpt.com))
Therefore, saying simply that “Nigeria’s external debt is $100 billion” is misleading.
The same principle should apply to unemployment, poverty, inflation, GDP and other indicators.
If we want government to tell Nigerians the truth, those demanding accountability must also tell the truth.
The strongest criticism is not the loudest criticism.
It is the criticism that can withstand verification.
The ultimate measure of government is the Nigerian household
Government should not be judged only by GDP growth.
It should be judged by whether a Nigerian family can afford food.
Whether a young person can find decent work.
Whether a business can survive.
Whether a child can obtain quality education.
Whether a sick person can receive treatment without becoming impoverished.
Whether an elderly citizen can live with dignity.
Whether a worker can retire without fear.
Whether a farmer can produce profitably.
Whether electricity is available.
Whether roads are usable.
Whether citizens feel safe.
Whether public institutions work.
And, above all, whether citizens believe that government is working with them rather than merely governing them.
A respectful message to the government
Mr. President, members of the National Assembly, state governors, ministers, commissioners and all public officials:
Please listen to the Nigerian people.
Do not dismiss their suffering because some macroeconomic indicators are improving.
Do not tell a family that it is prosperous because GDP has grown when that family cannot afford three meals a day.
Do not tell a struggling young graduate that the economy is recovering when there is no meaningful opportunity for him or her.
Do not demand greater taxation without demonstrating greater accountability.
Do not ask Nigerians to accept the sacrifices associated with developed economies while postponing indefinitely the social protection, institutional quality and public services that make those sacrifices politically and socially sustainable.
Nigerians are not opposed to reform.
Nigerians are opposed to suffering without a credible destination.
They are not necessarily opposed to taxation.
They are opposed to taxation without commensurate public value.
They are not opposed to sacrifice.
They are opposed to sacrifice that appears to be borne disproportionately by ordinary citizens while the political elite continues to live comfortably.
And they are not opposed to government claiming success.
They simply want the success to become visible in their homes, businesses and communities.
The message is simple:
Do not merely tell us that Nigeria is improving.
Show us.
Show us in the price of food.
Show us in employment.
Show us in electricity.
Show us in healthcare.
Show us in education.
Show us in security.
Show us in infrastructure.
Show us in the purchasing power of workers.
Show us in the dignity of pensioners.
Show us in the opportunities available to young Nigerians.
Show us in the transparency of public expenditure.
Show us in the quality of life of ordinary citizens.
Because ultimately, the success of an economy is not what government says about it.
It is what the average Nigerian can afford to eat, earn, build, save, educate, insure and hope for.
Nigeria does not need propaganda from either government or opposition. Nigeria needs truth, competent leadership, measurable results and accountability.
May God heal our land—and may our leaders have the courage to listen to the people they govern.
– Prof Abiodun Ojo
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