By Akin Samuel Kayode.
Leadership is not tested during seasons of abundance but in moments of adversity. It is when families struggle to put food on the table, businesses fight to stay afloat, and hope begins to give way to despair that the true character of governance is revealed. At such times, citizens look to their leaders not for explanations of why hardship exists, but for a credible roadmap out of it. In a democracy, words matter, but policies matter even more.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent assertion that there was hunger in Nigeria before he was born has understandably provoked widespread public debate. While the statement may have been intended to remind Nigerians that poverty predates his administration, many citizens interpreted it as a misplaced response to present realities. To a mother who cannot afford three meals for her children, or a father whose income no longer meets basic household needs, historical references provide little comfort. Hunger is never experienced in history. It is experienced in the present.
No serious observer of Nigeria’s political and economic history would deny that poverty and hunger existed before the current administration. They have remained persistent national challenges across successive governments. However, recognising that reality does not diminish the constitutional responsibility of any incumbent government. Democracies do not elect leaders to explain inherited problems; they elect them to confront those problems with vision, competence, and measurable results.
Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), declares that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” That constitutional provision imposes a solemn obligation upon every administration. It is not merely a political aspiration. It is a constitutional mandate. The Presidency is therefore judged not by the eloquence of its explanations but by the effectiveness of its interventions in improving the lives of citizens.
Every administration inherits challenges from its predecessor. That is the nature of governance. President Olusegun Obasanjo inherited years of military rule. President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua inherited infrastructural deficits. President Goodluck Jonathan inherited power sector challenges. President Muhammadu Buhari inherited economic and security concerns. President Tinubu likewise inherited significant fiscal and economic difficulties. Yet history has never judged leaders solely by the problems they inherited. It judges them by the solutions they provided.
When Nigerians voted in 2023, they did so with the expectation that economic conditions would gradually improve through coherent policymaking, sound economic management, and purposeful leadership. Citizens anticipated difficult reforms if necessary, but they also expected those reforms to be accompanied by clear strategies that would cushion their impact and restore hope within a reasonable period.
Economic reforms are often painful. Around the world, responsible governments have sometimes taken difficult decisions to stabilise struggling economies. However, successful reforms are usually accompanied by carefully designed social protection measures, effective communication, and policies that gradually improve living standards. Sacrifice becomes sustainable only when citizens can clearly see evidence that their suffering is producing tangible national progress.
International development institutions continue to paint a sobering picture of Nigeria’s economic reality. The World Bank has consistently warned that high inflation, particularly food inflation, has significantly weakened household purchasing power, while millions of Nigerians continue to live below the national poverty line. These assessments reinforce what ordinary citizens already experience daily in markets, workplaces, farms, and homes.
Statistics, however, only tell part of the story. Behind every economic figure is a human face. It is the market trader whose capital can no longer purchase the quantity of goods it once could. It is the civil servant whose salary loses value before month-end. It is the graduate who submits countless job applications without success. It is the farmer afraid to cultivate fertile land because of insecurity. These are not abstract policy debates. They are daily realities affecting millions of Nigerian families.
Equally noteworthy was the President’s reference to population growth. Population growth undoubtedly presents developmental challenges. Yet population itself is not the fundamental problem. Nations such as India, Indonesia, Brazil, and even China have demonstrated that large populations can become powerful economic assets when matched with investments in education, industrialisation, healthcare, technology, agriculture, and employment generation. Population becomes a liability only where governance fails to create opportunities proportionate to demographic growth.
This naturally raises an important policy question. Beyond identifying population growth as a contributing factor, what concrete and comprehensive policies has the present administration introduced to address its economic consequences? Leadership is ultimately measured not by its ability to identify problems but by its capacity to design and implement practical solutions.
Perhaps the greatest danger confronting any government is allowing explanation to replace execution. Citizens understand that governing Nigeria is difficult. They recognise the complexity of economic reforms and the weight of inherited challenges. What they seek, however, is visible progress. Governments earn public confidence less through speeches than through measurable improvements in the quality of life.
History consistently demonstrates that enduring political legitimacy is built upon performance. When inflation declines, food becomes more affordable, businesses expand, employment opportunities increase, electricity becomes more reliable, and insecurity is significantly reduced, governments require fewer political arguments because their achievements speak more loudly than their rhetoric.
No President should underestimate the patience and resilience of the Nigerian people. Nigerians have repeatedly endured extraordinary economic hardship with remarkable perseverance. Yet resilience should never be mistaken for unlimited endurance. Every sacrifice demanded of citizens carries with it a corresponding obligation upon government to demonstrate that those sacrifices are yielding meaningful national benefits.
This is why governance must always take precedence over political engagement. Elections are periodic. Governance is continuous. Political debates will always exist in a democracy, but they should never overshadow the urgent responsibility of improving the welfare of the people. Citizens are less interested in political victories than in affordable food, secure communities, quality education, accessible healthcare, and expanding economic opportunities.
President Tinubu still has the constitutional opportunity to shape a different legacy. History has not closed its verdict on his administration. The remaining years of his tenure present an opportunity to demonstrate that difficult reforms can indeed produce broad-based prosperity. That opportunity should be pursued with urgency, humility, and unwavering commitment to the welfare of the Nigerian people.
In the final analysis, the question before Nigerians is not whether hunger existed before President Tinubu assumed office. Few would dispute that it did. The more important question is whether hunger has become less severe, whether poverty has receded, whether opportunities have expanded, and whether ordinary citizens now live with greater dignity and hope than before. Those are the questions history will ask. Those are the standards by which every democratic government is ultimately judged.
Governments do not exist to remind citizens that yesterday was difficult. They exist to ensure that tomorrow is better than today. That is the enduring burden of leadership. That is the constitutional promise of democratic governance. And that is the expectation of millions of Nigerians who continue to wait, not for explanations, but for results.
Akin Samuel Kayode.
Member, The Narrative Force.
