NIGERIA: Nigeria’s ‘Economic Surgery’ Will Bring Lasting Recovery — Shettima

By Ameenat Hamzat, Lagos, Nigeria 

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said the ongoing reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration are proof of strong political will in addressing Nigeria’s long-standing structural weaknesses.

This was made known in state house press release, signed by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications, Office of the Vice President.

Speaking at the opening session of the 66th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES) in Abuja on Tuesday, the Vice President defended the government’s policies as tough but unavoidable measures for national recovery.

Shettima stated: “Nigeria is, of course, not exempt from Africa’s economic tragedies. But our silver lining is the listening ear of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Under his leadership, this administration has embarked on bold and inevitable reforms to address structural weaknesses that others before us only paid lip service to.

“These reforms testify to the power of political will in economic policy. Their painful but necessary consequences remind us that a malignant disease can only be cured by painful surgery. The wounds are temporary, but the recovery is permanent.”

The Vice President urged African nations to adopt a knowledge-driven economy, stressing that the continent must embrace structural transformation to combat unemployment and revive human capital.

He added: “We live in a world where a random citizen in Daura can outsource his services to a corporation in Dallas without seeing the inside of a plane or leaving his bedroom. But to catch up with this changing world, Africa must embrace structural transformation that reinvents its human capital and reverses unemployment.

“Poverty must be confronted head-on for the promise of this continent to be realised in the lives of our people.”

Shettima also pointed out that global disruptions such as trade protectionism, geopolitical conflicts, and the rise of artificial intelligence, though threatening, present opportunities for Africa’s economic transformation.

“They all paint a gloomy outlook. But each threat is also an opportunity in disguise. This is why a society such as yours exists: to light the path of a continent even in the darkest night,” he told participants.

The Vice President acknowledged the inflationary pressures caused by recent reforms but assured that the Tinubu administration remains committed to social protection and inclusive growth.

“Policies in transportation, healthcare, and education have been deliberately targeted at reducing inequality because these are the sectors that affect the weakest among us,” he said.

Other speakers at the event included Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, who pledged to integrate NES into government’s development plans, and Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, who described the livestock sector as “the next crude oil.”

NES President, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, reaffirmed the society’s commitment to supporting national transformation, while the African Development Bank’s Dr. Eric Kehinde Ogunleye urged investment in human capital, calling Africa’s people “the greatest assets of the continent.”