A policy think tank, the Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), has said the resilience and patriotism demonstrated by Nigerians have been instrumental in sustaining President Bola Tinubu’s sweeping economic reforms, arguing that the reform agenda might have faltered without citizens’ support.

The group said Nigerians’ willingness to endure the hardships associated with the reforms, rather than demand a return to unsustainable populist policies, has created the stability needed for the government’s economic measures to take root.

In a policy statement issued in Abuja on Friday, titled “Nigerians as Actual Executors of Tinubu’s Reforms as Economy Transits from Consumption to Productivity,” IMPI Chairman, Dr. Omoniyi Akinsiju, said the long-term success of the reforms largely depends on the continued commitment and cooperation of Nigerians.

In the statement titled ‘Nigerians as actual executors of Tinubu’s reforms as economy transits from consumption to productivity’, Akinsiju said that the success and long-term sustainability of the economic reforms were profoundly dependent on the Nigerian public.

Nigerians, he said, functioned simultaneously as the “primary shock absorbers, the ultimate arbiters of accountability, and the engine of behavioural realignment required for a market-driven economy.

“Rather than being passive spectators, we have observed the role of Nigerians in three critical dimensions in the sacrifice phase of bearing the immediate structural shock; enforcing fiscal accountability and the Social Contract; and the driving behavioural shifts and local productivity.

“The most immediate and painful role Nigerians have played is absorbing the massive inflationary and cost-of-living shocks triggered by orthodox economic corrections.

“By enduring the immediate spiralling costs of transportation, food, and energy following the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the Naira, the public has effectively provided the “fiscal breathing room” the government needed to prevent a sovereign default, and rebuild external reserves.

“The sheer resilience of Nigerian households and MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) in adapting to these harsh macroeconomic realities has kept the economy functioning, and prevent widespread structural collapse during the hyper-inflationary peaks of 2024 and 2025,” he explained.

He explained also that for market reforms to succeed, global investors and local citizens alike must see that saved revenues are being utilized transparently and that Nigerians play a vital role here as enforcers of the social contract.

Through civil society advocacy and public discourse as well as social media engagements, he explained that Nigerians consistently demanded that the trillions of Naira saved from subsidy removal be visibly channeled into tangible infrastructure, healthcare, and human capital development rather than bureaucratic waste.

Akinsiju also explained that long-term economic stability could not rely on central bank interventions or foreign portfolio investments alone, but required structural shift in how Nigerians produced and consumed.

He said: “As the floating of the Naira makes imported goods exponentially more expensive, the role of Nigerian consumers and businesses is shifting towards ‘Buying Nigerian ‘, supporting local manufacturing, agriculture, and tech startups, and it’s what will ultimately reduce the country’s systemic vulnerability to foreign exchange volatility.

“As the administration seeks to aggressively boost non-oil revenue, citizens and businesses transitioning into the formal economy play a vital role in building a sustainable, tax-funded fiscal architecture, reducing Nigeria’s historical dependence on volatile oil windfalls.”

He said that to fully appreciate the scope of the current economic transformation, “we must analyze it against the backdrop of historical policy choices”, explaining that for over two decades, the management of Nigeria’s economy was characterized by an adherence to command-and-control monetary policies and heavily subsidized consumption models which eroded national reserves and systematically disincentivised domestic production.