26/08/2026
Please fact-check me: After President Goodluck Jonathan partially removed fuel subsidy, Nigeria's GDP almost doubled and peaked at $514 billion. By 2014, Nigeria was the world's 22nd-largest economy. By 2015, we were the third-fastest-growing economy on Earth.
But when General Buhari reintroduced full subsidy, Nigeria went from the world's third-fastest-growing economy to suffering two recessions, and by the end of Buhari's tenure, our GDP, which was $514 billion in 2014, had shrunk to less than half that.
Some Nigerians tend to be very forgetful. They forget that when we had fuel subsidy, our people faced acute fuel shortages and slept at petrol stations because 25 million litres per day, out of Nigeria's supposed daily consumption of 66.9 million litres, were smuggled out to neighbouring countries.
If you subsidise fuel in Nigeria, the petrol will leave this country for our neighbours.
Under Buhari, Nigeria exhausted our foreign reserves on fuel subsidies, to the point where we could not fund the importation of essential commodities or their local manufacturing.
Nigerians forget that foreign airlines pulled out of Nigeria, and one of the largest grocery stores in the country, Shoprite, pulled out in 2021, along with other firms too numerous to mention.
Two of the world’s largest banks, HSBC and UBS, pulled out of Nigeria citing lack of policy stability over fuel subsidies and FX.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities went on national strikes for a total of 628 days under Buhari because the Federal Government couldn't pay lecturers a living wage. And why was that?
Because as of 2022, the Buhari administration was spending ₦18.397 billion per day on fuel subsidies for a total of almost $10 billion per annum. And while the government was spending ₦18 billion each day on fuel subsidy, it was only spending ₦2.7 billion per day on education.
After President Tinubu has added $67 billion to our GDP in just two years, and resolved all of these challenges in Nigeria, by ending fuel shortages, making Nigeria the largest exporter of petroleum products in West Africa, fixing the FX regime and stabilising the Naira thereby making the Nigerian Stock Exchange the most profitable on Earth, bar none, according to Bloomberg, ending ASUU strikes, and making Nigeria the top destination for Foreign Direct Investment in Africa, you want to bring back fuel subsidy?
Really?
This is not about political parties or individuals. This is a patriotic call to action. The only thing that can happen if Nigeria returns to fuel subsidies is the economic destruction of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
~ Reno Omokri
