His Excellency, 

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, 

President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, 

Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Aso Rock Villa,

Abuja.

 

Dear Mr. President,

HOW LONG MUST NIGERIANS BREATHE THE AIR OF PAIN?

Peace be with you!

I write this letter to you today not with the bitterness of a political rival, but with the heavy heart of a patriotic citizen who feels the pulse of the streets. The essence of leadership is to listen when the people cry out, and today, the groans of the masses have become too loud to ignore. Nigerians are currently walking through a dark tunnel of economic hardship. While we understand that nation-building requires sacrifice, the reality on the ground is that ordinary citizens are being pushed beyond their limits. It is only fair and just to look at your administration with an unbiased eye. 

A truthful Nigerian must admit that your government has taken some bold, structural steps that past administration hasn’t taken. First, we must commend you for the historic Supreme Court victory that granted financial autonomy to the 774 Local Governments (Supreme Court of Nigeria, 2024). For decades, the grassroots suffered because state governors hijacked funds meant for local development. By fighting for this autonomy, you have laid a foundation that gives democracy back to the people at the local level. 

Furthermore, the operationalization of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is a legacy achievement. With over ₦303 billion disbursed to more than 1.6 million students by mid-2026 (Nigerian Education Loan Fund [NELFUND], 2026), your intention is to provide a much-needed lifeline to the children of the poor, ensuring that financial constraints do not lock them out of higher education. I wish it would get to those that actually needed it without unnecessary burden. 

Similarly, we see your genuine intent in the Tax Reform Bills, which aim to exempt minimum-wage earners and small businesses from crushing taxes while removing Value Added Tax from essential foods and medical supplies. The report about your swift completion and temporary subsidy of the Abuja Metro Rail also stands as a testament that your administration can deliver on projects that directly impact on the common man. There are also several others.

The Burden of Broken Promises

However, Mr. President Sir, a few good policies cannot mask a nationwide crisis. The everyday reality of millions of Nigerians directly contradicts the solemn promises you made to us during your campaign. We remember your words in Lagos vividly. You stood before the nation and declared: "If I don't keep the promise and I come for a second term, don't vote for me—unless I give you adequate reasons why I couldn't deliver" (All Progressives Congress [APC], 2023). You promised to crash the cost of food. You promised to reduce the pump price of petroleum. Most memorably, you looked at the suffering masses and said, "Let the poor breathe." Today, Mr. President Sir, the poor are suffocating. The abrupt removal of the fuel subsidy on your inauguration day—without a functional local refinery or adequate buffers—set off an economic wildfire that has burned down the purchasing power of the average Nigerian. A nation that previously bought petrol at ₦195 per litre is now forced to buy it at over ₦1,000. Because our entire economy runs on petrol and diesel, this singular hike has multiplied the cost of transportation and staple foods to impossible heights. You promised a Nigeria where no parent would send a child to bed hungry, but today, hunger is the daily companion of the middle class, while the poor have been pushed into absolute starvation.

The Myth of a Broke Nation

To justify this suffering, your economic team repeatedly tells the nation that Nigeria is broke, that we are buried in debt, and that the masses must endure these painful sacrifices. Mr. President Sir, Nigerians reject the myth of a broke nation. Nigeria is not a poor country; she is simply a victim of misplaced priorities and monumental leakages. According to data from the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (2026), Nigeria sits on over $750 billion worth of untapped, high-value mineral resources like lithium, copper, and gold. Trillions of Naira in recovered loot have been returned to the treasury, yet we are told there is no money to subsidize food. Every year, Nigeria loses billions of dollars to crude oil theft and illegal gold smuggling. These illegal oil thieves and gold smugglers are not ordinary citizens; you may wish to search your conscience. If your government simply blocked these leakages and recovered stolen wealth, the national treasury would overflow. The government claims she is too broke to fund basic welfare, yet she is miraculously wealthy enough to purchase luxury SUVs reportedly worth over ₦160 million each for lawmakers. She is wealthy enough to fund bloated political entourages and renovate official residences at astronomical costs. A government that demands tight belts from its starving citizens must not wear loose garments of luxury.

Insecurity and the Empty Farmlands

We cannot discuss the high cost of food without addressing the collapse of security on our farmlands. Under the previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerians watched in horror as banditry evolved into a lucrative industry. The lackadaisical approach of paying ransoms to terrorists became nothing short of a state-tolerated money-laundering enterprise. We expected your administration to completely crush this ransom economy – believing that a-tribal-change-influences-the-weapon. Instead, the terror networks are still thriving. Although, we cannot close our eyes to several successes recorded so far, however, when failures overshadow successes, it would be difficult to tell of any achievement. 

Nigerian farmers cannot go to their farms because they are terrified of being slaughtered or kidnapped. When farmers cannot plant or harvest, how can the nation feed herself? What makes this security crisis deeply embarrassing is the intervention of foreign nations. Recently, the United States Congress advanced the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 (H.R. 7457) to sanction and hold Nigerian political actors accountable for religious extremism and terror financing (U.S. Congress, 2026), while the UAE has previously released lists of Nigerian terror financiers. Why must we wait for foreign parliaments to expose the enablers of terrorism in our country? If your administration does not boldly investigate, expose, and prosecute the high-profile sponsors of these bandits—regardless of their political alignment or their ambitions for the upcoming elections—the terrorists will never run out of weapons, and our food crisis will only deepen. I won’t believe it anyway if am told that your government is also planning to use them for an electoral benefit.

The Psychological Toll on the Masses

Mr. President, this extreme hardship has birthed a terrifying public health emergency. The suffering in the land is no longer just an economic issue; it is a mental health crisis. Human endurance has a breaking point, and millions of Nigerians are crossing it. The psychological toll of waking up every day to calculate how to survive on a stagnant income, while prices double every week, is breaking the minds of our people. If you drive along the internal and expressways of our cities today, you will observe a frightening increase in the number of mentally unstable citizens wandering the streets. 

Nigerians can testify to this. Just recently, on a busy highway, motorists watched in absolute horror as a completely naked, mentally broken woman lay rolling on the hot asphalt - displaying lunatic, while vehicles swerved dangerously to avoid crushing her. Whatever would have happened to her over the night is a story to tell another day. Fresh case arises daily, evident on our community roads. The current mental state of Nigerians is in supports of my article titled "Mental Illness in Nigeria May Double in 2025 Amidst Economic Hardships "Catholic Independent Newspaper, No 28429, Page 10, 29 September, 2024. This is neither a spiritual attack, nor the result of drug abuse Mr President; it is rather the tragic result of economic suffocation. Ordinary Nigerians are losing their sanity because the arithmetic of daily survival has overpowered their mental capacity. Yet, there are rare emergency social welfare systems, rare government rehabilitation centres, and rare safety nets to catch these broken citizens.

The Illusion of Election-Eve Relief

As we sit in the second half of 2026, we are fully aware that the political campaigns for the 2027 presidential elections will soon commence in August (National Assembly Library Trust Fund, 2026). History has taught us the deceptive strategies of Nigerian politicians. We know that as the campaign season kicks off, the government might suddenly introduce artificial, temporary relief measures to create an illusion of ease. Mr. President Sir, Nigerians will not be fooled by election-eve Greek gifts. After over three years of crushing hardship, any sudden drop in prices or emergency distributions designed merely to secure votes will be seen for exactly what it is: psychological manipulation. We refuse to be treated as political pawns whose suffering is ignored for years, only to be offered crumbs when our thumbprints are needed at the ballot box. True governance is about sustainable economic stability, not weaponizing relief to deceive the masses into granting a second term.

Our Core Demands and Recommendations

Mr. President, we are asking the ultimate question: How long will this pain last? To save this nation from total collapse, we respectfully demand the following urgent actions:

First, provide a clear, measurable timeline for genuine economic relief, not campaign season tricks. Nigerians need a transparent calendar detailing exactly when local refineries will fully stabilize domestic fuel prices.

Second, dismantle the terror-sponsoring networks. Direct your security agencies to act on both local intelligence and foreign reports. Prosecute every individual funding banditry, no matter how powerful they are. Many kept praising presidents Goodluck Jonathan for giving up the government despite clearly acknowledging that terrorists are in his government. Giving up on terrorists, whether locally or internationally sponsored is a cowardice decision. Will you do the same Mr President? Can’t the presidency fight the terrorists in government?

Third, drastically cut the cost of governance. Show Nigerians that the political class is sharing in this economic pain. Reduce the size of your cabinet, slash allowances, and halt the purchase of luxury vehicles for public officials. They are already rich enough to purchase any vehicle of their choice.

Fourth, establish Emergency Food Control Boards to regulate and subsidize the distribution of essential grains directly to local markets, bypassing hoarders and crashing the cost of feeding.

Finally, launch an immediate mental health and rehabilitation framework. Set up emergency welfare units across the states to clear vulnerable citizens off our internal and highway road and restore their human dignity with proper medical care. Financial cost of most mental rehabilitation is meagre. They are contributors in the homes where they have been displaced.

History will not judge you by the brilliance of your economic theories, but by the number of Nigerians who could afford three decent meals a day under your watch. Listen to the cry of the streets, fulfill your promises, and give the masses a concrete reason to breathe again. 

God Bless Nigerians. God Bless the Presidency. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Yours faithfully,

Daniel Ugwo (A Concerned Nigerian Citizen)