Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has told President Bola Tinubu that he cannot build a $1 trillion economy by making your own people poorer.
He also accused running an economic policy that ships Nigeria’s wealth abroad in raw form while leaving Nigerians at home with higher prices, weaker purchasing power and struggling factories.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the contradiction has become impossible to hide: Nigeria is exporting more raw materials, yet Nigerian manufacturers are sitting on trillions of naira worth of unsold goods because ordinary families can no longer afford what they produce.
“This is the painful paradox of Tinubu’s economy: the ships are leaving our ports full, but the pockets of Nigerians are empty. Government celebrates exports and trade surpluses while families are cutting meals, businesses are counting unsold stock and manufacturers are struggling to keep their gates open.
“You cannot build a $1 trillion economy by making your own people poorer.”
Nigeria’s raw-material exports rose by 106 per cent, from ₦1.86 trillion in the first half of 2025 to ₦3.84 trillion in the first half of 2026.
Atiku said: “There is nothing wrong with exporting. The problem is exporting the cheapest part of the value chain and buying back the expensive part.
“When we export cocoa beans instead of cocoa butter, powder and chocolate, hides instead of leather products, cotton instead of garments and minerals without processing them, we are handing other countries the opportunity to make the real money from resources that came from Nigerian soil.
