Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms have contributed to the sharp devaluation of the naira and worsened poverty in Nigeria.
Speaking on Wednesday at the Financial Times Africa summit 2026 in London, United Kingdom (UK), Obasanjo said the sharp decline in the naira’s value had impoverished Nigerians and contributed to the country’s position as the world’s poverty capital.
“We do not live in isolation as a country. We interact with the rest of the world. And overnight, you devalue the currency by 300 percent. The naira went from N500 to a dollar to N1,500 to a dollar,” Obasanjo said.