Why New York Times Report on Nigeria’s Economic Woes is Misleading – Presidency
In response to a recent New York Times feature titled ‘Nigeria Confronts Its Worst Economic Crisis in a Generation,’ the Nigerian Government has issued a rejoinder, describing the report written by Ruth Maclean and Ismail Auwal as misleading.
In a State House statement released on Sunday, June 16, 2024, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, said the article “reflected the typical predetermined, reductionist, derogatory, and denigrating way foreign media establishments have reported on African countries for several decades.”
“Because of the misleading slant of the report, we need to clear up some misconceptions conveyed by the reporters regarding the economic policies of the Tinubu administration that came into power at the end of May 2023,” Onanuga said.
The New York Times report, first published on June 11, claimed that the recent economic crisis Nigeria is facing, from soaring food prices to the depreciation of the country’s currency, is “largely believed to be rooted in two major changes implemented by President Tinubu, the partial removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the currency.”
However, Onanuga argues that the report unfairly blames the current economic hardships solely on the policies of the new administration, hinting that the President inherited a dead economy.
“To be sure, President Tinubu did not create the economic problems Nigeria faces today. He inherited them. As a respected economist in our country once put it, Tinubu inherited a dead economy,” adding that Tinubu’s economic reforms were a “needed quick surgery to avoid being plunged into the abyss, as happened in Zimbabwe and Venezuela.”
“This was the background to the policy direction taken by the government in May/June 2023: the abrogation of the fuel subsidy regime and the unification of the multiple exchange rates,” he said.
Onanuga details the rationale behind key policy decisions made by the Tinubu administration, such as the removal of the fuel subsidy and the unification of exchange rates. He points out that the fuel subsidy regime, which cost the nation $84.39 billion between 2005 and 2022, was unsustainable and diverted funds from essential infrastructure and social services. Similarly, the exchange rate subsidy, costing about $1.5 billion monthly, created arbitrage opportunities and discouraged foreign direct investment.
Noting that Nigeria will overcome its present challenges as it did in the past with similar situations, Onanuga, however, said Nigeria is not alone in the current cost-of-living crisis.
“The USA, too, is contending with a similar crisis, with families finding it hard to make ends meet. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen raised this concern recently. Europe is similarly in the throes of a cost-of-living crisis. As those countries are trying to confront the problem, the Tinubu administration is also working hard to overturn the economic problems in Nigeria.”
He added, “Our country faced economic difficulties in the past, an experience that has been captured in folk songs. Just like we overcame then, we shall overcome our present difficulties very soon.”
