From ‘Renewed Hope’ to ‘Worsened Hardship’: Afenifere Blasts Tinubu’s Two-Year Record

 

A powerful faction within the pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, has delivered a blistering critique of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s two years in office, accusing his administration of betraying the trust of Nigerians who believed in his much-publicized "Renewed Hope" agenda.

Led by Oba Oladipo Olaitan and Justice Faloye, the group released a midterm report that painted a grim portrait of Nigeria’s sociopolitical and economic landscape under the current government. According to the faction, the past two years have been marked not by progress, but by deepening despair, growing authoritarian tendencies, and an economic collapse attributed to a series of poor policy decisions.

The report was unsparing in its assessment, arguing that virtually every measurable development indicator has seen regression since Tinubu assumed office. “The promise of renewed hope has turned into a nightmare of regressing hopelessness,” the group lamented, asserting that the administration’s narrative of success is built on “massive propaganda and false claims.”

Afenifere’s leadership argued that instead of owning up to the suffering its policies have inflicted, the Tinubu administration has leaned on blame games—citing historical and global factors—while showing little empathy for ordinary Nigerians grappling with rising inflation, food insecurity, and lack of basic services.

Of particular concern to the group is the administration’s handling of the economy. Afenifere accused Tinubu of introducing what it called “unforced errors” in the form of abrupt policy shifts, such as removing subsidies and floating the naira without adequate measures in place to protect the most vulnerable. This, they claimed, has triggered a spiral of economic hardship. “The Tinubu Economic Reforms have turned into Tinubu Economic Deforms,” they declared.

Despite promises to streamline governance and reduce the cost of running government, Afenifere claimed that spending has, in fact, skyrocketed. Citing the non-implementation of the Oronsaye Report, which proposes merging and scrapping redundant agencies, the group accused the government of expanding wasteful structures to reward loyalists. They condemned the purchase of luxury items such as a new presidential jet, Cadillac limousines, and N160 million vehicles for federal lawmakers—expenditures they say contradict the government’s call for citizens to make sacrifices.

Equally troubling, according to the report, is what Afenifere described as a slide toward authoritarianism. The group pointed to Tinubu’s refusal to support the creation of state police, despite rising insecurity, as a demonstration of his desire to consolidate power. The federal government’s encroachment on local government autonomy, they argued, signals a move away from federalism and toward what they believe is an attempt to establish a centralized, one-party state.

Beyond administrative issues, Afenifere expressed alarm over increasing political repression and intolerance of dissent. Peaceful protests, student demonstrations, and labor actions have reportedly been met with intimidation and suppression. The report also raised concerns about alleged manipulation within opposition parties and the judiciary, including controversial appointments to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which the group claims include ruling party loyalists.

Political defections into the ruling party by opposition figures are seen by the group not as organic realignments, but as desperate moves by politicians seeking protection from state persecution. This climate of fear, they warned, is choking democratic institutions and undermining the country's electoral integrity.

The group criticized what it called the administration’s misplaced focus on electoral strategy for 2027 rather than governance and service delivery. They warned that no amount of image laundering or public relations campaigns would erase the pain felt by Nigerians burdened by hunger and poverty.

Afenifere concluded its report by urging President Tinubu to take a hard look at the realities facing the country and adjust his governance approach in the interest of national survival and the well-being of the people. “This midterm report is not an exercise in opposition but a duty to history,” the group stated. “It is a warning bell that must be heeded before the remaining years of this administration slip irretrievably into chaos and disillusionment.”

The faction called for a redirection towards genuine reforms anchored on accountability, empathy, and federalism—values they say are critical to rescuing Nigeria from what they describe as a dangerously widening gulf between the government and the governed.