Demola Olarewaju, the Special Assistant on Digital Media Strategy to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has claimed that the intense economic hardship under President Bola Tinubu’s administration has made ex-President Muhammadu Buhari “look like a saint”.
Olarewaju delivered a sharp critique of the current administration’s trajectory during an interview session on Vanguard’s Politics Hub.
He argued that the current financial strain on Nigerian citizens far outpaces the difficulties experienced during the previous administration.
He specifically pointed to the skyrocketing cost of premium motor spirit (petrol), which he noted has dramatically altered the cost of living.
“Tinubu’s biggest achievement is making Nigeria poorer, and it’s because of the instability of the economy,” Olarewaju stated.
“Bola Tinubu has made poverty worse; he has made Buhari look like a saint. I read someone who wrote that he misses Buhari, and I thought, ‘how can someone miss Muhammadu Buhari?’
“But I then I thought about it—the price I buy liters of petroleum under Buhari is now almost ten times costlier under Tinubu’s government.
“That is not friendly to my pocket and not friendly to the pocket of any Nigerian.”
Olarewaju further accused the President of being entirely disconnected from the daily struggles of ordinary Nigerians, specifically citing the ongoing crisis in the power sector.
He criticized the electricity tariff categorization system, which divides consumers into Bands A, B, C, and D, arguing that despite the classifications, power supply remains grossly inadequate.
“The electricity doesn’t come,” he lamented, adding that the President is insulated from the crisis.
“He himself took Aso Villa off the grid; he doesn’t feel what Nigerians are feeling. Tinubu’s biggest failure is his inability to connect with the everyday pains of Nigerians.”
Beyond the economy and infrastructure, Atiku’s aide described the administration’s handling of national security as a total disaster.
He raised alarms over the brazen nature of criminal elements across the country, noting that insecurity is inching dangerously close to the nation’s commercial capital.
“Almost every state of the country now is under siege,” Olarewaju warned. “Bandits are operating in broad daylight as close as Oyo State is to Lagos State.”
Summarizing his evaluation of the current administration, Olarewaju insisted that the government has yet to record a single success since assuming office.
“Tinubu has recorded zero achievement. There is no sector you can point to that he recorded any success,” he concluded.
“I refer to him as a 360 failure, that is why I feel he should be kicked out by 2027.”
