Bosun Oladele, the national secretary of South West Agenda for Asiwaju 2023 (SWAGA’23), representated the Irepo/Olorunsogo/Orelope federal constituency of Oyo state at the national assembly from 2015 to 2019. He is also a former commissioner of information in the state.

In this interview with TheCable’s TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, he spoke on developments in the country since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in 2023.

TheCable: You campaigned vigorously for Tinubu and promised Nigerians that things would be better if he won. It’s almost one year since Tinubu was sworn in, are you impressed with his performance, especially when you consider the hardship Nigerians are facing?

OLADELE: The truth must be told. President Tinubu has never minced words from his campaign to his various speeches in office. He has always said it that he wished that there could be other ways that some of these things could be done but there isn’t. A popular age-long saying is that gold will not be gold until it has passed through fire.

If you look at it, every country that has emancipated till date had their own history and story of turbulence. The reality is that a sick person will either take medication or go through surgery in order to get well. None of these two is sweet or palatable. They all leave bitter taste in the mouth; but at the end, the sick person will get back on his feet.

I will say President Tinubu has been a leader that has walked his talk. He has spoken to every situation and has listened to the demands of Nigerians. He never disconnected himself from the reality of what is going on outside. In the area of policy formulation, drive and implementation, he has considered the opinion of people that matter. I will say that we have never had a leader in his mold before so far, so good.

The indices are clear. Apart from the fact that he keeps saying it at every point in time, most of the things that he has promised, he has been working assiduously on them. He has involved critical stakeholders in most of his policy formulation and implementation. For the first time, the CBN has been dictating the rate of forex rather than what we used to have, when you have the parallel market or BDCs dictating the race.


When it comes to fighting the ills in the society, those things that have constituted themselves into the cog in the wheel of progress in the economy. I think he has really tried more than anyone else in this time. I can’t remember who has done it that way. I want to say at the risk of sounding immodest that Tinubu is putting Nigeria on the right path. He doesn’t waste time in addressing issues and he is never afraid of policy reversal once there is a superior argument regarding those policies. I believe those are the stuff that any good leader is made of. You don’t have to be rigid just for the sake it. You have to be rigid and be positively so. I think I’ve seen that in Tinubu.

TheCable: An international media platform recently said Nigeria is burning through foreign-exchange reserves at a rate not seen in four years, raising concerns that the central bank is depleting its dollar holdings to support the naira. If true, don’t you think that is not sustainable in the long run?

OLADELE: I beg to disagree. Whoever is giving them that kind of analysis or information upon which they based such assumption, that person is more of a trader than an economist. The CBN has churned out many policies and taken many positive actions which have really strengthened the naira. They have made it so that you can’t be throwing around dollar in our economy today. If you have more than 10,000 dollars today, you have to explain the source. That alone has put a lot of money launderers off their usual tracks. Also, sourcing for forex from unscrupulous sources have been cut off. Also, the diaspora remittances can no longer be received in dollars. This will only help the naira if you can’t get it in dollars and that is part of what we are witnessing now.

Again, his interaction with state governors has really helped. There have been speculations that immediately monthly allocations from the federal government are released to states, there is a spike in dollar rate. This led to the belief by some Nigerians that maybe some of the governors have been mopping up dollars with slush funds. I had it on good authority that the president has addressed it several times with them. To me, that is a leader that knows his onions.


Some of the government-owned refineries are starting. In fact, the senate ad-hoc committee investigating the turnaround maintenance of Nigeria’s refineries has said the Port Harcourt Refinery will begin operation before the end of December. The private-owned one, that is the Dangote Refinery, is already working. The demand on dollar to be able to buy diesel has dropped sharply. All these policies will only gear at nothing but upward mobility of the naira.

Look at the foreign reserve that we are talking about. I was reliably informed that Nigeria has paid at least $12 billion in terms of foreign debts. If we had paid that and we had about $34 billion when this administration was coming in, as of today, we still have about $1.5 billion debit from the foreign reserve. If you juxtapose that with the $12 billion that has been paid out, are we really depleting the foreign reserve? The answer is no! So, the media platform has done nothing but to bring in trading theories and layman analysis in place of doing due diligence and research. Unfortunately, some media houses here in Nigeria have been lashing on that and parroting these laymen analyses. That is wrong.

TheCable: The value of the naira is rising, yet the prices of food items and other commodities are not coming down and still beyond the reach of the common man. Why is that so?

OLADELE: Number one, CBN’s job is to defend the naira, not to attack it. They are defending it right now in terms of policies on the table that can not only be seen but also verifiable. Two, most traders that inflated prices, they did it off the cuff without any economic basis. These were people that increased prices immediately they heard that subsidy was removed. That also affected the dollar rate too because if you want to change money, the BDCs fix arbitrary prices and that was why it kept going up. Those sharp practices kept going on until the CBN decided to cut their wings through well-tested policies that were very effective. The prices we have in terms of commodities and food items are artificial. It has nothing to do with the dollar.

TheCable: What is your assessment of the performance of the ministers in President Tinubu’s cabinet?

OLADELE: Of course, Nigerians expect the ministers to have done better in some areas. I believe that at the end of the day, they will perform creditably well to the admiration of Nigerians. Like we have been told in the past, he doesn’t give you assignment while waiting for you to work and bring feedback. He works with you in ensuring that there is a feedback. So, definitely, he has shown good leadership and his actions show that he was prepared for governance.

TheCable: Do you think any of the opposition presidential candidates, especially Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, would have done better if they had won the election?

OLADELE: Never! Those two don’t have the experience required to govern a country like Nigeria. This is the first time we are having a finance expert manage the affairs of Nigeria as president. Show me what these two men have done before when they held public offices and I will also tell you that I have seen a virgin in a maternity ward before.

Obi was a governor for eight years in Anambra state. There is no traceable impact of his administration in that state till date. Governors that spent less time running Anambra had more positive impact than Obi in terms of infrastructure, developmental projects and so on. The only thing he could point out was that he saved money. Economists would ask you what is the benefit of saving if you are not using it to grow your income or bring development to yourself or the state? Of course, he was able to bring in a personal business which is the brewery. Is that the person you want to entrust Nigeria into his hands?

When you look at his campaign, when Obi gives you statistics, they are always faulty. Many people didn’t get to know because they don’t bother to fact-check his words. Immediately we started fact-checking, we discovered Peter Obi was giving off-the-cuff statistics in order to bamboozle people and get votes in the election.


Atiku is becoming more like Former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He keeps writing press releases on every issue, both the ones he understands and the ones he doesn’t. He just wants to impress Nigerians that he is doing the work of opposition. Meanwhile, these were issues that were not addressed when he was in government as vice-president to Obasanjo. What did they do in terms of refineries? It was the same Atiku that told us that he was going to sell our refineries to his friends if he becomes president. He is the same one criticising Tinubu for giving the 700-km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway to a supposed ally at a highly competitive price. The design of that highway, alongside the East-West road, Bagary-Sokoto, Ikere Gorge Dam in Oyo North have always been there when Atiku and Obasanjo were in power. What did Atiku do while in power? The National Shipping Line was scrapped under them. Nigeria Airways was scrapped under them. A lot of government-owned properties was scrapped or sold under them in the name of privatisation without providing any alternatives. The roads were bad and tollgates, which were meant to earn money to rehabilitate those roads, were dismantled. What was the social security schemes that they put in place for Nigerians? What did they do about power supply when they were in government?

It was under them that we used $16 billion to generate darkness. Was Atiku not part of that administration? What is he going to do better if he becomes president? So, I don’t think Atiku and Obi would have done anything better. In fact, with the kinds of challenges Asiwaju met in office, Nigeria’s economy would have crumbled if either Atiku or Obi are in charge now. Anybody can challenge me to a debate on this issue. None of them could have done anything better than what Tinubu is doing now.
https://www.thecable.ng/interview-nigerias-economy-would-have-crumbled-with-atiku-or-obi-as-president-says-ex-oyo-rep/

Yoruba Moslems trying to deceive the country with out-dated takiyya after wrecking the economy

😂😂😂😂

Lies from pit of hell.
PO is 100 times better

Rubbish

It wouldn't have crumbled, because the two idiots you mentioned couldn't have been President. Even their great grandchildren will never rule Nigeria

This is the nonsense they always say to make themselves feel good. The fact of the matter is, agbadorians can only deceive fellow agbadorians.

Meanwhile, IMF is reporting that Nigeria has slipped from the first to the fourth largest economy in Africa under Escobar.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-18/nigeria-s-economy-once-africa-s-biggest-slips-to-fourth-place

I don't need to read all the rubbish spewed on this news but the oladele man is a political contractor who wants to detract us from the failure of his paid masters. Instead of him to commend Tinubu on the very few things he got right but he chose to drag Obi and Atiku to the mud his master is burrowing in.

Has the economy not crumbled yet?
How much was the prices of goods and services before his paid master ascended the seat?
How was the exchange rate before "na statistics we chop" started churning out damaging statistics?

No be lie

Bitter truth which is very hard to swallow

Buhari bastardized the economy and Tinubu has finally buried it. Yet here are these fools still regaling the citizens of being saviours while their zombies hailed on. Incompetent fellas always living in delusional overylhyping of their cluelessness and Incompetency

idiotic and devilish people. that corrupt man in asorock represents everything wrong with the country. He's a rotten tree so he can never produce good fruit.

Typical SW slowpoke has spoken , this is how stupid these people think , Nigeria that didn't collapse under the utterly useless Buhari people like this idiot supported will collapse under Atiku or Obi ? Idiocy

Either PO or Atiku would have handled the mess Buhari lefts behind than Tinubu .. Tinubu made the mess 4 times worse within 6 months and hasn't still even been able to get the economy to where Buhari left it..

Pound for pound Buhari has already outperformed Tinubu by 4 x and the only way Tinubu can prove anything is to return inflation lower than what Buhari left which he never can

helinues:
No be lie.Bitter truth which is very hard to swallow....

https://www.nairaland.com/8066797/nigerias-economy-once-africas-biggest#129525219 Be properly guided and educated
No everyone is uninformed.

helinues:
No be lie

Bitter truth which is very hard to swallow

Find work oooooooo

How to deceive idiots.


Allow naira to depreciate then allow it to appreciate.

Smh

okoo

Couldn't he least Mentioned who brought it to the Level where Obi or Atiku would have Crumbled it Finally? 😏😕

See how Tinibu Followers are Implying that Buhari is a FAILURE.
But afraid of calling his name.

Such COWARDICE.

I felt like throwing up while reading this epic rubbish... The level of psychophancy of some people, especially certain people from that part of the country, is disgusting.

This is what you get when a leader shares cocaine like candy to his subordinates

Oduduwapigs:
This is what you get when a leader shares cocaine like candy to his subordinates

lol

Racoon:

https://www.nairaland.com/8066797/nigerias-economy-once-africas-biggest#129525219 Be properly guided and educated
No everyone is uninformed.

South Africa and Egypt are currently in Financial mess.

South Africa where the goons working for the government contractors would in a broad day light vandalize government properties most especially traffic lights . The up NEPA( load shedding) currently in SA could be worst than Nigeria

Egypt in particular that have used almost all their reserves to build a new city in the desert still they are not even close to 40% completion.

Abeg talk something different

COMRADES, the mumu man said; 'the economy could have crumbled'
For God sake, is the economy not in disarray now beyond redemption?
Please just tell me what sector is in good condition now

Same people who lost their voices when things were going haywire

Thank God some of us spoke out, only God knew where their baba would have taken us to with his early days nonchalance

Now them dey form online, meanwhile shege is dealing with them offline seriously

Una go still learn lesson sha

Hahaha 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I don't think any of them would have been as foolish to float the Naira at the same they removed subsidies!

In less than 60 days, World Economic Structure would release it's assessment of economies in the world, and guess what? Nigeria is fourth!!!! From first, fourth largest!

Una mumu no be here Sha!

So in your Agbado mind, Nigeria has not crumbled?

Pound for pound Buhari has already outperformed Tinubu by 4 x and the only way Tinubu can prove anything is to return inflation lower than what Buhari left which he never can

To be frank, this is a fact we have to acknowledge until the economic factors and indices in place before Buhari left office are returned. I am not talking about policies. I meant the measure of "evidence of good living" felt by ordinary people on the streets.

I can only praise Tinubu on economy if naira gets to N500 to a dollar. Anything he is doing now is whitewash

Thièfnubu crippled the economy, his loosed baboons started praising his policies misadventure just to feel good.

Ogun kee the idiots praising failure.

Lies from pit of hell. PO is 100 times better

Clowns everywhere
Whatever makes you sleep at night

He campaigned for Tinubu. So i dont expect him to praise Obi or Atiku

Felabrity:
Clowns everywhere
Whatever makes you sleep at night

Betanaija42moro:
Lies from pit of hell.
PO is 100 times better

How can you say something is better when you haven't tried it.