“From N500 To N1,500 Per Dollar” — Obasanjo Raises Questions About Tinubu’s Economic Policies

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, expressing concern over Nigeria’s economic outlook and the impact of the naira’s depreciation on the living conditions of Nigerians.

According to a report by DAILY INDEPENDENT on Thursday, October 22, 2026, Obasanjo said the naira’s depreciation from N500 to the dollar to N1,500 had significantly reduced the purchasing power of Nigerians and worsened the country’s poverty situation.

The former president argued that the sharp decline in the value of the naira had made Nigerians poorer, as the currency’s reduced value increased the cost of goods and services, placing additional pressure on households already struggling with the rising cost of living.

Obasanjo also linked the development to Nigeria’s position as a country with a large population living in poverty. He questioned the benefits of the economic situation, insisting that the consequences of the currency’s depreciation could not be considered favourable to the country or its citizens.

He said the naira’s decline had effectively made Nigerians poorer by 300 per cent, adding that the development had contributed to Nigeria having the largest number of poor people in the world.

In his words, “We do not live in isolation as a country. And overnight, you devalue the currency by 300 percent. The naira went from N500 to a dollar to N1,500 to a dollar. What that meant was that every Nigerian is made poor by 300 percent. That made Nigeria to become the poverty capital of the world. You cannot say to me that that is good in any semse.”

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