While we welcome stronger Nigeria–United States bilateral relations and support every genuine effort to improve investment, trade, technology transfer and economic cooperation, we are concerned by recent comments attributed to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Frank Garcia which may be interpreted as a broad endorsement of the Tinubu administration’s economic and infrastructure performance.
Diplomatic goodwill should never be mistaken for an objective assessment of the realities confronting Nigerians.
As citizens, we wear the shoes and know where they pinch.
The IMF itself, despite acknowledging improvements in some macroeconomic indicators, concluded in its 2026 Article IV Consultation that poverty has risen to about 63% of Nigerians living below the national poverty line, while approximately 27 million Nigerians experienced food insecurity. The World Bank has equally estimated that roughly seven million additional Nigerians were pushed into poverty following recent economic reforms.
These are not mere statistics; they represent millions of families whose daily struggle has intensified.
When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, Nigeria undoubtedly faced serious structural economic challenges. However, after three years of painful reforms, including fuel subsidy removal, exchange-rate liberalisation, repeated electricity tariff increases and multiple tax adjustments, the socio-economic condition of ordinary Nigerians has deteriorated significantly.
Today, Nigerians face unprecedented hardship characterised by:
Persistent inflation and rising food prices;
Declining purchasing power of wages and salaries; Rising transportation and energy costs; Closure of thousands of small and medium-scale enterprises;
Increasing unemployment and underemployment; Worsening insecurity across several parts of the federation; Rising poverty and social inequality.
Even the IMF acknowledges that although macroeconomic reforms may improve long-term stability, they have imposed severe short-term social costs on millions of Nigerians and that economic growth remains insufficient to substantially improve living standards.
From the standpoint of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), economic success cannot be measured merely by exchange-rate stability, increased foreign reserves or positive investor sentiment. The true measure of economic performance is the quality of life enjoyed by the people.
A successful government is one that reduces poverty, creates decent jobs, expands affordable housing, improves access to quality education and healthcare, guarantees food security, and protects lives and property.
On these indicators, the present administration has fallen far short. Nigeria’s housing deficit is estimated at over 28 million housing units, leaving millions without access to decent and affordable shelter. Maternal and child mortality remain among the highest in the world, while healthcare financing continues to depend overwhelmingly on out-of-pocket payments by impoverished citizens.
The education sector equally reflects the deepening crisis. The increase in the cost of WAEC and NECO registration—from ₦27,000 to ₦50,000, has placed secondary school certification beyond the reach of many poor households. At a time when government should be expanding educational access, public policy is making education increasingly unaffordable for children from low-income families.
Meanwhile, insecurity has continued to worsen. Banditry, terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, communal conflicts and violent criminality have displaced farming communities, disrupted agricultural production, increased food inflation, discouraged investment and undermined national productivity. No economy can sustainably grow where citizens and investors cannot be guaranteed the security of their lives and property.
Infrastructure development must equally be assessed by its developmental impact rather than by its political appeal.
The Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway may possess strategic importance in the long term. However, from a social democratic perspective, it represents a misplaced priority when Nigeria urgently requires massive investment in railway transportation, affordable mass housing, electricity generation and distribution, irrigation, healthcare and education.
Investment in modern rail infrastructure would reduce logistics costs, improve national productivity, connect agricultural belts to markets and generate hundreds of thousands of sustainable jobs. Likewise, a comprehensive national housing programme would simultaneously address Nigeria’s enormous housing deficit while creating employment throughout the construction value chain.
Such investments would produce far greater economic multipliers than prestige projects with limited immediate impact on the welfare of ordinary Nigerians.
Equally troubling are concerns regarding fiscal governance. The increasing reliance on repeated supplementary appropriations, extensive budget rollovers, and various forms of off-budget spending has weakened fiscal discipline and reduced budget transparency. Rather than strengthening annual budget implementation, these practices risk creating uncertainty in public finance management, complicating legislative oversight and undermining accountability in the utilisation of public resources.
A responsible fiscal framework demands predictable annual budgeting, disciplined implementation, transparent supplementary spending only in exceptional circumstances, and strict parliamentary scrutiny of every public expenditure.
The Social Democratic Party believes that infrastructure should never be measured by the value of contracts awarded or kilometres of roads constructed. Infrastructure should be judged by its measurable contribution to reducing poverty, creating productive employment, expanding industrial capacity, lowering the cost of living, improving social welfare and promoting inclusive economic growth.
The comments by Assistant Secretary Frank Garcia, though undoubtedly intended to strengthen bilateral relations between Nigeria and the United States, could unfortunately be interpreted as a vote of confidence in the Tinubu administration at a politically sensitive period preceding the 2027 General Elections.
Nigeria’s democratic future must remain exclusively in the hands of Nigerians.
What Nigerians expect from the United States and the wider international community is principled support for constitutional democracy, credible elections, judicial independence, transparency, accountability, respect for human rights and the protection of democratic institutions.
The international community should also remain vigilant regarding developments that shrink civic space, weaken democratic institutions, suppress opposition politics or create conditions capable of reducing Nigeria to a de facto one-party state.
The Social Democratic Party remains committed to building a productive economy founded on social justice, inclusive development, accountable governance, affordable housing, quality education, universal healthcare, efficient railway transportation, food security, industrialisation and democratic accountability.
Ultimately, the true measure of any government’s success is not the commendation of foreign diplomats but the lived experience of its people. History will judge governments not by official statistics or diplomatic applause, but by whether they lifted millions out of poverty, protected lives, expanded opportunities and restored hope to their citizens.
Comrade Wale Balogun
South West Zonal Organising Secretary
Social Democratic Party (SDP)
17 July 2026
