An Open Letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
By HRM Oba Adeola Adekinle Ajagungbade Okunola II
The Awara of Iwara Kingdom
Your Excellency,
I extend my royal compliments to you and offer prayers for wisdom, strength, and divine guidance as you continue to shoulder the enormous responsibilities of leading the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
As royal fathers and traditionally apolitical custodians of the people, our sacred duty is not only to pray for the peace, unity, and progress of our nation, but also to offer sincere counsel whenever national circumstances demand thoughtful intervention. It is in this spirit of patriotism, concern, and constructive engagement that I write this open letter to Your Excellency.
This intervention is neither an attack nor an act of political criticism. Rather, it is a heartfelt appeal for urgent economic recalibration in the interest of national stability, public welfare, and indeed, your political future ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Mr. President, there is a growing storm across the nation — a storm driven not merely by political opposition, which on its own may struggle to unseat you, but by millions of ordinary Nigerians weighed down by severe economic hardship. While opposition politics is expected in every democracy, the greater challenge confronting your administration today is the silent anger of struggling households, unemployed youths, traders, artisans, transport workers, and civil servants whose purchasing power has collapsed under the burden of inflation and rising energy costs.
These Nigerians may not necessarily belong to any political party, but they constitute the true electoral majority. Their frustration is deep, widespread, legitimate, and increasingly politically dangerous. No leader seeking re-election can afford to ignore such realities, and no sincere adviser should pretend otherwise.
Your administration deserves commendation for demonstrating courage in confronting difficult fiscal realities, particularly through the removal of petroleum subsidy. While the policy may have been economically necessary, its implementation came without adequate strategic cushioning to protect vulnerable citizens from the resulting economic shockwaves.
The consequences have been severe.
According to recent World Bank data, Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty rate now stands at 63 percent — one of the highest levels recorded since the return to democratic governance in 1999. Inflation has soared, transportation costs have doubled, food prices have become unbearable, and many small and medium-scale businesses are collapsing under rising operational expenses. Tens of millions of families now struggle daily to afford basic necessities.
Economic indicators may appear favorable on paper, but such statistics lose meaning when ordinary citizens cannot experience relief in the marketplace.
Many Nigerians had hoped that the beginning of the new year would usher in policies aimed at easing economic hardship, improving purchasing power, and reducing the cost of living. Instead, public discourse became dominated by tax drives, revenue enforcement measures, and compliance deadlines at a time when citizens were already stretched beyond their limits.
Sir, poverty cannot be taxed.
A people already trapped in multidimensional poverty due to runaway inflation and escalating energy costs cannot reasonably bear additional fiscal pressure. While I commend your courage in removing the petroleum subsidy — a policy long considered necessary for economic reform — I respectfully submit that the timing and implementation lacked sufficient preparatory groundwork and strategic cushioning mechanisms.
Mr. President, governance must never lose sight of the people.
You were elected not by international financial institutions, but by millions of Nigerians whose expectations are simple and legitimate: improved living conditions, affordable transportation, stable energy prices, accessible food, stronger purchasing power, and renewed economic hope. It was the ballot of the Nigerian people — not the recommendations of the IMF or the World Bank — that brought your administration into office.
Therefore, compassion for the ordinary Nigerian must remain the moral center of governance.
Today, the painful reality is that disposable income has virtually disappeared for millions of households. Consider the average Nigerian worker who previously spent ₦5,000 daily on transportation but now spends ₦10,000 because of increased fuel prices. That additional ₦5,000 once represented the difference between feeding a family and going hungry — between survival and desperation.
Multiply this reality across millions of homes nationwide, and the depth of public frustration becomes clearer.
This is why urgent intervention is necessary, and strategic collaboration with the Dangote Refinery may provide a practical pathway forward.
Mr. President, one major route to economic relief and political recovery lies in establishing a bold and mutually beneficial partnership with the Dangote Refinery. I am confident that the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, GCON, would willingly collaborate with the Federal Government in the national interest.
With the Dangote Refinery complex, Nigeria now possesses a privately owned domestic refining asset capable of significantly transforming the nation’s economic trajectory. Your administration should urgently pursue a strategic framework that guarantees the refinery access to domestic crude supply under stable, naira-denominated pricing arrangements, while ensuring that refined petroleum products are sold within regulated and reasonable market-reflective pricing thresholds supervised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
Such a policy could deliver far-reaching benefits, including:
* Reduction in fuel prices;
* Lower transportation and logistics costs;
* Reduced inflationary pressure;
* Increased disposable income for households;
* Improved business stability;
* Renewed public confidence in government; and
* Stronger public support for your administration.
Beyond immediate relief measures, the government should also accelerate policies that encourage indigenous wealth creation and strengthen internal trade within the oil and gas sector by allocating oil wells specifically dedicated to domestic refining and local consumption through government-facilitated production and supply agreements with the Dangote Refinery.
Continued dependence on imported refined petroleum products remains economically counterproductive. Nigeria cannot continue to lose valuable foreign exchange importing products that can and should be refined locally.
At the same time, government must avoid creating permanent dependence on a single private refinery. Nigeria’s medium- and long-term national interest requires the development of additional functional refineries, managed transparently and efficiently by credible international operators where necessary to guarantee global operational standards and efficiency.
The current situation presents a rare opportunity to rethink and restructure Nigeria’s downstream petroleum architecture for sustainability, competitiveness, fiscal stability, and national resilience.
Mr. President, history has consistently shown that democratic legitimacy is strongest when rooted in the goodwill of the people rather than political maneuvering. The road to 2027 will not be won merely through party structures, elite alliances, or the machinery of state power. It will ultimately be decided in the marketplaces, among transport workers, in rural communities, and within the hearts of ordinary Nigerians who simply desire a better life.
The people must genuinely feel the impact of governance.
Nigerians do not only want to see infrastructural development; they also want tangible improvements in their everyday living conditions. If your administration can decisively reduce the economic hardship facing the masses within the shortest possible time, public confidence will rise again, and your path to re-election will become significantly smoother.
There is still time to act decisively. I sincerely hope your economic team can work out practical and sustainable solutions well ahead of the next general election, without policy contradictions or self-inflicted setbacks.
Indeed, it is always better late than never.
I wish Your Excellency sound health, wisdom, and success in the service of our great nation.
Kindly accept the assurances of my highest regards and best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
HRM Oba Adeola Adekinle Ajagungbade Okunola II
The Awara of Iwara Kingdom
Atakunmosa, Osun State, Nigeria.
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