Stephanie Shaakaa’s article, “The Price of Repair: 3 Years of Reform, Sacrifice and Search for Renewal Under Tinubu,” attempts to portray the last three years of the Tinubu administration as a difficult but necessary journey towards national recovery. However, for millions of ordinary Nigerians, the reality has been one of deepening hardship, worsening insecurity and declining living standards rather than meaningful renewal.
The article acknowledges that the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira imposed severe burdens on the population. Yet, it largely treats these hardships as unavoidable sacrifices while failing to adequately examine whether the government has delivered corresponding improvements in the lives of working people. Even supporters of the reforms have described subsidy removal as a “burden for Nigerians” despite increased revenues to government.
Three years after the so-called reforms began, inflation remains high, food prices have soared beyond the reach of many households, and millions of Nigerians struggle daily to afford basic necessities. While government officials speak of economic indicators and investor confidence, ordinary people measure the economy through the cost of food, transportation, housing and healthcare. Reports continue to highlight a severe cost-of-living crisis affecting workers, students and poor communities across the country.
The article’s narrative of gradual progress also sits uneasily alongside the country’s worsening security situation. Across the North-East, North-West, North-Central and increasingly the South-West, communities continue to face terrorism, banditry, kidnappings and violent attacks. Schoolchildren are still being abducted, communities displaced and lives lost. Critics argue that despite repeated assurances from government, there has been no decisive breakthrough in addressing the insecurity crisis.
Perhaps the most significant weakness of the article is its assumption that Nigerians should continue to endure sacrifice while waiting for promised benefits that remain largely invisible. After three years, many citizens are asking a simple question: where are the tangible gains? Public schools remain underfunded, healthcare remains inaccessible for millions, unemployment persists, and poverty continues to deepen.
From a left-wing perspective, the central problem is not merely the pace of reform but the class character of the policies themselves. The burden of economic adjustment has fallen overwhelmingly on workers, youth and the poor, while political office holders continue to enjoy enormous privileges and state resources. The promised “renewal” has largely translated into greater suffering for ordinary Nigerians while wealth and power remain concentrated in the hands of a small elite.
Rather than celebrating endurance, any serious assessment of the last three years must confront the reality that millions of Nigerians have experienced not renewal but declining living conditions, persistent insecurity and shrinking opportunities. Until these fundamental issues are addressed, claims of successful reform will remain disconnected from the everyday experiences of the majority.
