How I almost ran away during my early days as President — Tinubu
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has opened up about the difficult start to his administration, revealing that Nigeria’s economic situation at the time was so overwhelming that he nearly cut himself off from the media.
Speaking during a weekend visit to Katsina State, the President said the weight of public criticism and the enormity of the challenges he met on ground were almost too much to bear.
“When we started, it was tough. I almost stopped watching and reading newspapers,” Tinubu confessed. “I was discouraged, but I stood firm in my decisions. Leadership is about making the right decisions at the right time.”
President Tinubu, however, expressed optimism that the tough choices made by his administration are now yielding positive results.
“Nigeria is on the path to success. The economy is recovering; we have turned the corner,” he said confidently.
Meanwhile, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has expressed concern over Nigeria’s economic performance.
Speaking at the 20th anniversary dinner of Chapel Hill Denham in Lagos, Dr. Adesina noted that Nigeria’s GDP per capita has significantly declined.
He pointed out that countries like South Korea, which once had similar economic indicators with Nigeria, have now surged ahead due to better planning and consistent policies.
According to him, decades of poor economic management and lack of continuity in governance have left more Nigerians in poverty than they were at Independence in 1960.
Dr. Adesina called for urgent and strategic reforms to reposition Nigeria as Africa’s economic giant.
==============