There comes a time in the life of every nation when its citizens must pause, look beyond political rhetoric and ask some uncomfortable questions. Nigeria appears to have reached that point.
Are the economic reforms introduced by the President Tinubu administration achieving the objectives for which they were designed? Why is petrol still so expensive? Why is cooking gas increasingly beyond the reach of ordinary families in a country blessed with abundant natural gas? Why has diesel become prohibitively expensive for businesses and individuals who depend on it to survive?
These are not questions being asked merely for the sake of criticism. They are questions that arise from the daily experiences of millions of Nigerians who are struggling to feed their families, transport themselves to work, keep their businesses open and educate their children.
Economic reforms are never expected to be painless. Governments often introduce difficult measures with the promise that the immediate sacrifices will eventually produce a stronger and more sustainable economy.
Nigerians were told, in effect, that removing fuel subsidy and allowing market forces a greater role would free resources for development, reduce distortions and place the economy on a healthier footing. But the ordinary Nigerian is entitled to ask: When will the benefits become visible?
The energy burden
The removal of petrol subsidy was accompanied by a dramatic increase in the price of fuel. That increase did not stop at the filling station. It travelled through the entire economy.
Transport fares rose. The cost of moving farm produce from rural communities to urban markets increased. Manufacturers faced higher production costs. Small businesses that depend on petrol and diesel-powered generators saw their operating expenses soar. The trader passed the additional cost to the consumer. The farmer did the same. The transporter adjusted his fares. Eventually, almost everything became more expensive.
This is why the price of fuel cannot be treated as merely an energy-sector issue. It is an economic issue, a food-security issue and, ultimately, a social welfare issue.
Then there is cooking gas. Nigeria is one of the world’s significant producers of natural gas, yet many Nigerian households struggle to afford the very commodity that should provide a cleaner and more accessible alternative to firewood and other traditional cooking fuels.
This raises another uncomfortable question: How can a gas-producing country allow cooking gas to become so expensive that ordinary families are forced to reconsider what they cook with and how they cook it? The contradiction is difficult to ignore.
A country can possess enormous natural resources and still have a population that cannot afford the products derived from those resources. The existence of resources, by itself, does not guarantee prosperity. What matters is how those resources are exploited, processed, priced and distributed, and whether ordinary citizens receive a meaningful benefit from them.
Diesel presents yet another dimension of the problem. For many businesses, especially small and medium-scale enterprises, diesel is not a luxury. It is a survival input. Where electricity supply is unreliable, businesses depend on generators. When diesel becomes expensive, production costs rise. A bakery spends more to produce bread.
A water producer spends more to pump and package water. A printing press spends more to operate its machines. A hospital or clinic spends more to maintain essential services. The additional costs eventually find their way into the prices paid by consumers.
The result is a vicious cycle: expensive energy produces expensive goods, and expensive goods reduce the purchasing power of citizens. This is where Nigeria’s experience must be examined against what happens in other oil-producing countries.
According to Google, the comparative figures supplied for September 2026 put Saudi Arabia’s regular gasoline at about $0.58 per litre, while Libya’s heavily subsidised petrol and diesel are cited at around $0.024 per litre. Why do some oil-producing countries maintain policies that shield their citizens from the full force of international energy prices, while Nigerians appear to carry an enormous portion of the burden?
The answer is not necessarily that Nigeria should copy Saudi Arabia or Libya wholesale. Every country has its own economic circumstances, fiscal capacity and policy choices. But Nigeria must be willing to examine its own choices honestly.
Reform, relief, responsibility
We must also ask how much room Nigeria really has to design policies that protect its citizens. Why do we appear so constrained by the prescriptions and expectations of international financial institutions? What is the appropriate balance between fiscal discipline, market reform and the responsibility of the government to protect vulnerable citizens?
The Bretton Woods institutions, particularly the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, have important roles in the global financial system. Their recommendations should not automatically be dismissed. But neither should Nigeria surrender its responsibility to make policies based on the peculiar realities of its own people. Economic policy must ultimately serve human beings.
What is the essence of government if not to create an environment in which citizens can live with dignity, work productively and meet their basic needs?
Government cannot control every price in the marketplace, nor should it necessarily attempt to do so. However, the government has a responsibility to build the conditions under which food, energy, transportation, healthcare and education are reasonably accessible. This is particularly important in agriculture.
Nigeria cannot seriously fight food insecurity while simultaneously allowing the cost of agricultural production to become unbearable. Fertiliser, improved seeds, pesticides, herbicides, machinery, transportation and other inputs all have costs. When energy and transportation costs rise, the farmer pays more. The farmer must then sell at a higher price to recover the cost of production. The consumer ultimately pays.
This explains why the reduction of headline inflation in any particular month does not necessarily translate into relief for a family standing in a market. What matters to that family is not simply whether inflation has slowed; it is whether the prices of food, transport, rent, medicines and other necessities are actually within its purchasing power.
That is why the government must listen not only to economists and financial analysts but also to farmers, transporters, traders, manufacturers, workers, artisans and ordinary families.
The reforms must be measured against lived realities. If a reform is economically sound on paper but produces consequences that large sections of society cannot endure, the government must be prepared to adjust the policy, introduce safeguards or provide effective targeted relief.
There is nothing wrong with reform. Indeed, Nigeria desperately needs reforms in many sectors. What Nigerians need is reform that produces opportunity rather than simply transferring the burden from government accounts to household budgets.
Building an economy that works
The country needs a comprehensive energy strategy that considers petrol, diesel, gas and electricity together. It needs policies that encourage domestic refining, expand gas processing, improve electricity generation and distribution, reduce logistics costs and create an environment where businesses can produce competitively.
Nigeria also needs to stop treating its enormous natural resources merely as commodities to be extracted and sold. More value must be created domestically. Above all, the government must communicate honestly with the people.
Citizens can endure hardship when they understand its purpose, see evidence that sacrifices are shared fairly and have confidence that there is a credible destination ahead. What becomes dangerous is when people are repeatedly told that things are improving while their daily experience tells a different story.
The questions, therefore, deserve answers. Are the reforms working? Why is fuel so costly? Why is cooking gas beyond the reach of many Nigerian families despite the country’s gas resources?
Why is diesel so expensive that businesses are struggling to remain viable? Why does food remain beyond the reach of many households? And, perhaps the most fundamental question of all is: What is the essence of government if it cannot make life reasonably bearable for the people it governs?
These are not questions that should frighten those in power. They are questions that should guide those in power. Nigeria cannot build a prosperous society by asking its citizens to make endless sacrifices without demonstrating clearly how those sacrifices will translate into better lives.
The time has come to ask the hard questions, not to undermine reform but to ensure that reform remains connected to the people it is supposed to serve. Because at the end of every economic policy, every budget figure and every reform programme is the Nigerian family.