Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said Nigeria is making progress under President Bola Tinubu, even though many citizens have yet to feel the benefits of the government’s economic reforms.
Dogara made the comments during an appearance on Sunday Politics on Channels Television, where he defended the president’s performance and stressed the need for continuity in governance.
Responding to questions about whether Tinubu had delivered on his campaign promises, Dogara said the president had focused on key areas such as economic recovery, security improvement, and long-term structural reforms.
“I think we are on the right track, even if people are not feeling it,” he said. “The security challenges we face have built up over many years. There is no one with a magic wand to fix everything overnight. But since he assumed office, we have seen leadership in areas that were previously neglected.”
On the economy, Dogara argued that the severity of the problems inherited by the current administration is often overlooked. He said Tinubu had chosen not to dwell on blame but to focus on solutions.
“In terms of the economic collapse of this nation, I don’t know whether we truly appreciate where we were coming from. The president does not share blame; he believes that apportioning blame is not the path an effective leader takes,” he said.
While acknowledging the hardship being experienced by many Nigerians, Dogara maintained that reforms were necessary and that progress was already being made, though unevenly.
“If we properly assess where Nigeria was when he took over and what has been achieved so far, you might score him below 60%. Some people are feeling the pinch, but reforms are absolutely necessary,” he added.
He stressed that deep-rooted problems cannot be solved within a short period, noting that sustained reforms would eventually produce positive results.
“Things that have suffered years of decay cannot be fully reversed within two years. But there is light at the end of the tunnel if these reforms are allowed to continue. Some of them will take time before they yield results,” Dogara said.
