JUST- IN : After Tinubu Returned To Nigeria, SEE Serious Warning Afenifere Sent To Him
The Yoruba socio- cultural group, Afenifere, has issued a strong warning to the Nigerian government, led by President Bola Tinubu, to approach the World Bank’ s advice on economic reforms with caution. Afenifere expressed concerns that the recommended measures may have serious negative effects on Nigerians.
This caution came after President Tinubu returned to Nigeria following a two- week vacation in France. In a statement released on Saturday in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, Afenifere’ s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, voiced the group’ s reservations about the advice given by the global financial institution.
The World Bank recently advised Nigeria to reduce its government support for social services and continue with economic reforms over the next 10 to 15 years to secure its place as a leading economic force in sub- Saharan Africa. This message was delivered by the World Bank’ s Senior Vice President, Indermit Gill, during the 30th Nigerian Economic Summit held in Abuja.
Afenifere, however, expressed concern that the potential benefits of these reforms may not be felt until after President Tinubu’ s administration has ended. They warned that Tinubu’ s leadership might be remembered only for the hardships faced by citizens, while future governments could enjoy credit for any economic improvements that may come.
In their statement, Afenifere urged the government to adopt policies that would support local businesses and initiatives aimed at reducing Nigeria’ s dependence on imported goods.
Ajayi pointed out that many nations that followed similar advice from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) faced negative consequences. He cited countries such as Mexico, Ghana, Argentina, and South Korea, which experienced economic setbacks after adopting the financial institutions’ recommendations.
Ajayi also mentioned Malaysia’ s decision to reject similar reforms. Malaysia’ s former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohammed, had argued that following such prescriptions would have stunted the country’ s economic growth, raised unemployment, and harmed the welfare of its citizens.
While Afenifere acknowledged President Tinubu’ s efforts to reduce bureaucratic obstacles, improve productivity, boost agriculture, and encourage entrepreneurship, they stressed that these goals might not be achievable in Nigeria’ s current economic situation. The group highlighted the impact of rising energy costs, which are affecting businesses and leading to higher levels of unemployment and insecurity.
They emphasized that high prices for fuel, electricity, and gas were pushing many businesses to the brink of collapse, with serious consequences for Nigeria’ s economy. As a solution, Afenifere called for the government to develop policies that would strengthen local businesses, foster innovation, and reduce the country’ s dependence on imports.
