Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has praised President Bola Tinubu for pulling Nigeria’s economy back from the brink of collapse, describing his administration’s structural reforms as ‘audacious’ and necessary.
Speaking at ‘The Platform Nigeria’— a national discourse hosted by Poju Oyemade and The Covenant Nation, Mr Soludo said Mr Tinubu’s economic policies returned the country’s public finances to solvency and a path of macroeconomic stability.
“The audacious structural reforms embarked upon by the current administration of His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu have rescued the economy from the tipping point,” he stated.
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“In 2023, I described the economy as a standing dead horse. Public finance was on the verge of insolvency, risking mass retrenchment and unpaid salaries. Today, public finance is back on a solvency path.”
Mr Soludo, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, cited positive assessments from the World Bank, IMF, Moody’s, and the ‘Financial Times’ as evidence that Tinubu’s reform agenda is making credible progress.
He noted that while he had previously criticised international financial institutions, their current support for Nigeria’s economic direction was largely warranted.
He also urged public commentators to adopt more evidence-based analysis, stressing the importance of rigorous critique over mere opinion.
“Conduct rigorous counterfactual analysis and provide credible alternatives,” he challenged critics.
Beyond economics, Mr Soludo used the event themed ‘Rebuilding Our Nation’ to call for a nationwide moral and ideological reset.
He argued that sustainable national development depends not only on leadership but on the character and values of the Nigerian people.
“We must deliberately create a critical mass of new Nigerians — people who believe in the country and are ready, if necessary, to die for her,” he said.
The governor warned against a growing culture that glorifies unearned wealth and shortcuts to success, saying Nigeria must return to its traditional values of hard work, enterprise, and integrity.
“A society where no one asks about sources of wealth, and where free money is celebrated, will always breed transactional governance,” he warned.
Mr Soludo praised recent federal and state initiatives aimed at empowering young Nigerians and fostering patriotism, including the federal government’s NELFUND student loan scheme and Anambra State’s ‘One Youth, Two Skills’ programme.
“These programmes are foundational investments that could help create a new generation of patriotic, productive citizens,” he said.
He also called for legislation and cultural reforms to tackle the widespread belief in magical wealth, urging Nigerian media and education systems to lead the charge against the normalisation of dubious success.
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To entrench a new national ethos, Mr Soludo advocated a realignment of political ideologies and values across party lines, urging stakeholders to unite around a common vision for transformational leadership.
“This is a national emergency requiring urgent national conversation,” he said.
