President Bola Tinubu says Nigeria has no reason to be poor and for once, he’s right. But the irony is too loud to ignore. The man leading the nation that tops global poverty charts stood on a podium in Abuja to remind Nigerians that the country is “blessed with abundant solid minerals and talented people.” Is this a failed speech recycled by presidents who couldn’t turn “potential” into actual progress?
The Poverty in the Room
Tinubu’s declaration that Nigeria has no reason to be poor would have landed better if the economy wasn’t on life support. How do you tell a country where over 133 million people live in multidimensional poverty that “there’s no reason” for their suffering? That line, though well-delivered, feels like a slap to millions struggling under the weight of inflation, unemployment, and a currency that keeps falling like dry leaves.
The real issue isn’t whether Nigeria has resources, everyone knows that. The problem is what leaders like Tinubu have consistently failed to do with them. For decades, Nigeria’s wealth has been treated like a family inheritance shared among politicians while the citizens are left to pick crumbs. It’s not poverty that shames Nigeria, it’s leadership that does.
Minerals to Miracles — or Just More Talk?
At the Mining Week in Abuja, Tinubu, represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, said the country should turn its “minerals into miracles.” Nice rhyme, but Nigerians have heard too many slogans that died before they began. From “Transformation Agenda” to “Change” to “Renewed Hope,” every government comes with a slogan and leaves behind the same empty promises.
If the government truly wants to turn minerals into miracles, maybe it should start by turning policies into action. The mining sector contributes less than 1% to the GDP, a national embarrassment for a country with gold, lithium, coal, and dozens of untapped minerals. The NEITI report revealed that over 80% of mining is done by artisanal miners who pay little or nothing in royalties, while the big players exploit loopholes that government officials pretend not to see.
When Tinubu says Nigeria has no reason to be poor, he should also explain why these structural leakages remain untouched. Why the same corrupt systems still decide who gets mining licenses and who gets pushed aside. Why governors sit on mining revenues and still demand bailouts. It’s not the minerals that need a miracle, it’s the governance.
Even Tinubu’s idea of “harnessing potentials” sounds detached from reality. How can a government harness potentials when power supply is unstable, roads to mining communities are impassable, and foreign investors are scared off by insecurity and policy inconsistency?
And while the president’s representatives sit in air-conditioned halls discussing “minerals to miracles,” miners in Plateau, Nasarawa, and Zamfara are dying in collapses that never make it to the front pages.
Leadership, Not Luck
Nigeria’s problem isn’t lack of resources, it’s lack of discipline. Countries like Singapore and South Korea became economic giants without half of what Nigeria has. What they had was leadership that worked. Tinubu saying Nigeria has no reason to be poor should be a challenge to himself. If he truly believes that, then Nigerians are waiting for him to prove it, not preach it.
