From SAP to Self-Reliance: How Nigeria is Rebuilding with Purpose

Written by

Adeboye Prince Adetu

Ibrahim Babangida 

Ernest Shonekan 

President Bola Hamed Tinubu and Okonjo Iweala

Once again, foreign voices are advising Africa—this time on taxation. Some commentators claim high taxes here are just for show, to appease foreign lenders while impoverishing our people. But this view ignores a deeper truth: the lasting harm of externally imposed policies, and Nigeria’s bold, homegrown efforts to repair the damage. I speak from lived experience—and from watching history unfold in real time.

It was 1986 when President Ibrahim Babangida announced the Structural Adjustment Programme. In those days, I read the newspapers daily expecially the evening times which was cheaper than the morning newspapers then, trying to grasp the forces reshaping our nation. I remember a report where Ernest Shonekan—then Managing Director of UAC, a conglomerate formed by the British—was asked at Lagos airport about the Naira. He stated plainly that it was “too strong” and needed devaluation. As a young man, I didn’t understand what that meant—not until SAP made it my reality.

Years later, Babangida would make Shonekan Interim Head of State—a move many saw as rewarding his early promotion of SAP ideology. This link matters: it shows how foreign corporate influence and military policy merged, scripting an economic future everyday Nigerians never chose.

I felt that script rewrite my life. I was a student at Government Technical College, Ajegunle, Ogun State, preparing for British City & Guilds exams as a foreign candidate. Our fees were in pounds. Overnight, devaluation sent the exchange rate soaring. What was affordable on Monday was impossible by Friday. SAP didn’t adjust our economy—it shattered dreams and cemented a brutal truth: the Naira was weakened by design, and a dignified future meant leaving its grasp.

That engineered devaluation fuels today’s exodus. Our people leave in droves, chasing currencies over 1,500 times stronger than the Naira. Imagine if exchange rates were fair—how many would stay and build here? Even our footballers leave for what seems modest abroad—as little as $300 to $1,000 monthly—which in Naira is a fortune. This isn’t ambition; it’s economic survival instinct, born from policies crafted far from the people.

That’s why this administration’s reforms are not mere changes—they are acts of national reclamation. The new tax system launching January 1, 2026, is critical. By broadening the tax base, it aims to generate real domestic revenue for all government levels. This is how we break the cycle: with our own money, funding our own needs, free from foreign loan conditions and comprador influence.

But revenue alone isn’t enough. We must wage an unwavering war on corruption. We must dismantle the systems that let officials and politicians steal public funds and siphon them abroad—a practice that further devalues our currency and perpetuates dependency.

Thankfully, this government is taking historic steps others avoided. The push for State Police addresses our unique security needs. The decentralisation of military command across six geopolitical zones strengthens both security and national unity. These are foundational repairs to a fractured state.

And the progress is visible. Across Nigeria, coastal roads, the Sokoto-Badagry Highway, seaports, railways, hospitals, and many other life-changing initiatives are ongoing. These projects, supported through strategic partnerships, are not just concrete and steel; they are the physical backbone of a renewed nation. They create jobs, connect markets, improve livelihoods, and keep our talent home.

We must connect the dots: security, infrastructure, sound taxation, and accountable governance create an ecosystem where talent and enterprise thrive at home. The coastal road opens trade routes; the Sokoto-Badagry corridor integrates communities; railways and seaports move goods; hospitals heal our people. But tax and anti-corruption reforms build the moral and economic foundation.

To those abroad who advise us: remember our history. The wounds of SAP, promoted by a British-formed conglomerate head and enforced by the military, are real and generational. Nigeria is not just tweaking taxes; we are rewriting a narrative long dictated by external forces and internal betrayal.

This journey is ours. It calls on us to pay our taxes, demand transparency, and support tough reforms that reclaim our sovereignty. With coastal roads rising, rails being laid, and highways reaching farther, we are building a Nigeria where the Naira is not just a currency—but a passport to a future crafted, and enjoyed, right here at home.

Adeboye Prince Adetu is a public affairs analyst and technical education advocate who witnessed the impact of SAP as a student and a reader of Nigeria’s unfolding story.