Beyond politics: Fixing a nation where the poor can no longer breathe

BY SUNDAY JAMES

There is an unsettling heaviness hanging over Nigeria today. A weight felt not only in the pockets of citizens, but in their minds and homes. For many Nigerians, daily existence has become a relentless struggle for survival. Food prices are soaring beyond comprehension, transportation costs have more than quadrupled in some areas, basic healthcare is increasingly unaffordable, and energy tariffs rise faster than incomes can catch up. The cost of living is not just high, it is suffocating. For the poor and vulnerable, Nigeria is becoming unlivable.

What is most tragic is that this hardship is not the result of a natural disaster or global conflict; it is the direct consequence of poorly conceived and even more poorly implemented government policies. In the name of economic reform, the government has rolled out initiatives that have largely ignored the social and economic realities of the people they are meant to serve. The removal of fuel subsidy, for instance, while fiscally necessary—was implemented without any meaningful palliatives in place. The unification of the naira exchange rate, touted as a bold move to attract investment, has triggered a near-total collapse in currency value, eroding the purchasing power of citizens and businesses alike.

These macroeconomic shifts have not been accompanied by targeted buffers to absorb the shock. The much-publicised conditional cash transfer scheme, rebranded and relaunched under various administrations, has failed to make any significant dent in the lives of those it claims to support. Aside from allegations of corruption and data opacity, the programme’s reach is laughably limited and its structure is riddled with inefficiencies. In the absence of a national social register that is trusted, current interventions look more like public relations exercises than lifelines.

Equally, the school feeding programme, once celebrated as a strategy to increase school enrolment and fight child hunger, has degenerated into a bureaucratic experiment, marred by politicisation and questionable accountability. In many states, children no longer receive these meals consistently, if at all. Vendors complain of unpaid arrears, and civil society organisations have raised concerns about inflated procurement figures. Yet, the government continues to present it as a success story.

What all of this reveals is a deeper structural problem: a disconnect between policy design and the lived realities of Nigerians. Policy decisions appear to be driven more by economic orthodoxy and international applause than by evidence-based, citizen-focused strategies. Rather than stimulating growth or alleviating poverty, these reforms have exacerbated inequality, bred frustration, and deepened the sense of abandonment among citizens.

Yet, as millions fall deeper into poverty, the political class seems obsessed with the distant mirage of 2027. Conversations in Abuja and state capitals are increasingly dominated by permutations for the next election cycle, not the present agony of the electorate. The political elite has all but resumed campaigns while citizens are being driven to the brink by rising food insecurity, joblessness, insecurity, and poor access to social services. It is governance without compassion, and politics without purpose.

What Nigeria urgently needs is a return to people-first policymaking. This means pausing to ask difficult questions: Who really benefits from our current economic reforms? How are policies affecting the bottom 60 percent of the population? Where is the accountability for failed interventions? Leadership must go beyond announcements and headlines; it must translate into tangible relief for ordinary Nigerians.

In this moment, there is a moral obligation on the part of those in power to recalibrate. First, by revisiting current economic policies and sequencing reforms more deliberately. Second, by investing in scalable, transparent social protection programs that actually reach the poor. And third, by cutting down the cost of governance and redirecting those funds to public infrastructure, education, and healthcare. The burden of hardship cannot be disproportionately placed on citizens while government spending remains excessive and opaque.

The government must stop asking Nigerians to tighten their belts while the state continues to widen its own. Transparency, equity, and empathy must become the new guiding principles of governance in Nigeria. Anything less is a betrayal of public trust.

Nigeria is a country of extraordinary potential, but without deliberate and urgent course correction, that potential will continue to be buried under hunger, anger, and despair. The people are not asking for miracles; they are asking for leadership. Leadership that listens.

Leadership that acts. Leadership that puts people before politics. What Nigeria needs now are policies that let the poor breathe—interventions that loosen the noose of inflation, food insecurity, and joblessness around their necks. From affordable transportation and accessible healthcare to functional education and transparent social protection systems, it is time to design policies that work for the people, not against them. Anything less is not just a policy failure, it is a betrayal of the social contract.

Sunday James is a communications and development expert passionate about citizen-centred policy reform. He is currently pursuing a PhD in development communication and can be reached at [email protected]