By Hadiza Abdulkadir
Dr Tijjani Ahmad, an accountant and lecturer at Hussaini Adamu Federal Polytechnic, Kazaure, has criticised the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) assessment of the Nigerian economy, questioning the benefits of economic growth amid widespread poverty and food insecurity.
In a Facebook post, Ahmad argued that the IMF’s reported economic growth of 4.2 per cent and its claim that reforms had strengthened the economy’s resilience contrasted sharply with the hardship facing millions of Nigerians.
He cited figures in the report indicating that poverty affected about 63 per cent of the population, or roughly 140 million people, while 27 million Nigerians faced food insecurity.
“If growth leaves people poorer and hungrier, what exactly is growing?” Ahmad asked, describing the situation as one in which the government had become richer while citizens became poorer.
He, however, identified what he considered a deeper contradiction in the IMF’s position on Nigeria’s fuel subsidy policy, arguing that the debate should go beyond simply removing or restoring the subsidy.
According to him, Nigerians had experienced the consequences of both prolonged subsidy arrangements, which he described as corrupt, and the hardship associated with subsidy removal.
Ahmad maintained that the central issue was not necessarily whether the subsidy should be removed or restored, but how the government managed whichever policy it chose.
He proposed that if the government decided to maintain subsidy removal, it should ring-fence the reported N15.8 trillion in savings for investment in transport and healthcare, expand targeted assistance beyond the N25,000 support scheme, and ensure that domestic refineries operated effectively to help reduce fuel prices.
He also called for a reassessment of the country’s economic policy, urging the government to develop solutions suited to Nigeria’s circumstances rather than simply follow external prescriptions.
“We need to go back to the drawing board and redesign a Nigerian solution, not just take orders,” Ahmad said.