“If You Lost Sleep, Weight, I’ve Lost Some Too” Tinubu Admits Nigerians’ Hardship Amid Economic,Secures APC Ticket for 2027 Reelection Bid!

“If You Lost Sleep, Weight, I’ve Lost Some Too” Tinubu Admits Nigerians’ Hardship Amid Economic,Secures APC Ticket for 2027 Reelection Bid!

Reported by Fasesan Marian opeyemi | Editor-in-Chief at Sele Media Africa.

ABUJA, Nigeria — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has publicly acknowledged the severe economic hardship gripping the nation, stating that he has also “lost sleep and weight” over the challenges, as he formally secured the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket for the 2027 general election. The admission, made on Saturday following his acceptance of the party’s nomination, represents a rare direct acknowledgment from the president of the human cost of his administration’s sweeping economic reforms.

Speaking at the APC Special National Convention in Abuja, Tinubu defended the twin policies of fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange unification, framing them as painful but essential surgery for an economy he inherited in critical condition. His remarks come as Nigeria grapples with inflation exceeding 30 percent, a weakened naira, and widespread public discontent over rising living costs.

The Admission: A President’s Shared Burden

“If you lost sleep, if you lost weight, I have lost some too,” Tinubu told delegates at the Eagles Square convention ground. “The decisions we made were not easy, but they were necessary to save our country from fiscal collapse.”

The president’s language marked a notable shift from earlier, more technocratic defenses of his economic agenda. By personalising the hardship, Tinubu appeared to be attempting to build empathy with a population that has seen purchasing power erode dramatically since the reforms began in May 2023.

Political analysts observed that the admission carries both strategic and electoral weight. With the 2027 election cycle now formally underway, Tinubu must navigate a delicate balance: defending the necessity of reforms while acknowledging their immediate pain.

Political Analysis: The 2027 Calculus

The timing of Tinubu’s admission is politically significant. By securing the APC ticket well ahead of the 2027 election, the president is signalling party unity and preempting internal challenges. However, the acknowledgment of hardship also opens a vulnerability that opposition parties are likely to exploit.

“Tinubu is attempting to inoculate himself against the hardship narrative by owning it,” said Dr. Adebayo Olusegun, a political scientist at the University of Lagos. “But this is a high-risk strategy. Voters may interpret his admission not as empathy, but as confirmation that his policies have failed to deliver promised relief.”

The APC’s decision to hold the convention nearly 18 months before the election suggests a campaign of early consolidation. Tinubu’s acceptance speech emphasised continuity, framing the reforms as a multi-year project whose benefits are yet to materialise fully.

“We are laying a foundation that will outlast any single administration,” Tinubu said. “The pain is real, but the alternative — returning to a system of subsidies and artificial exchange rates — would be a betrayal of our future.”

Opposition figures were quick to respond. Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in 2023, described Tinubu’s comments as “tone-deaf theatre” and called for an immediate reversal of the fuel subsidy removal policy.

The Reform Agenda: Two Years On

Since assuming office on May 29, 2023, Tinubu has pursued one of the most aggressive economic reform agendas in Nigeria’s democratic history. The removal of the long-standing fuel subsidy, which cost the government an estimated ₦4 trillion annually, was accompanied by the unification of the country’s multiple exchange rate windows.

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank have praised the reforms as necessary for long-term fiscal stability. However, the short-term impact has been severe. The naira has lost more than 60 percent of its value against the US dollar, while petrol prices have risen from approximately ₦185 per litre to over ₦700 per litre.

Food inflation, driven by both currency depreciation and security challenges in agricultural regions, has pushed millions of Nigerians into food insecurity. The National Bureau of Statistics reported in April 2026 that food inflation stood at 38.7 percent, the highest in two decades.

Reactions: A Nation Divided

The president’s admission has drawn sharply divided reactions across Nigeria’s political and civil society spectrum.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) issued a statement rejecting Tinubu’s characterisation of shared sacrifice. “The president has not lost sleep the way a minimum wage worker who cannot afford transport to work has,” said NLC President Joe Ajaero. “This is not shared hardship; this is imposed hardship.”

Conversely, APC governors rallied behind the president. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State described Tinubu as “a leader willing to take the heat for the nation’s long-term good.”

Religious and traditional leaders have also weighed in. The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, called for “greater empathy and concrete action” from the federal government, urging Tinubu to accelerate social intervention programmes.

Pan-African and Global Significance

Nigeria’s economic trajectory under Tinubu carries implications far beyond its borders. As Africa’s largest economy and most populous nation, Nigeria’s reform experiment is being closely watched by other resource-dependent economies on the continent.

Ghana, Angola, and Kenya are pursuing similar subsidy removal policies, with varying degrees of political resistance. A successful — or failed — Nigerian model could influence policy decisions across the region.

Internationally, the Biden administration and European Union have maintained cautious support for Tinubu’s reforms, while international investors have responded positively to the exchange rate unification. However, the human cost of the reforms has drawn criticism from human rights organisations and development agencies.

“Nigeria is a test case for whether democratic governments can sustain painful economic reforms without triggering social instability,” said Dr. Fatima Diallo, an economist at the African Centre for Economic Transformation in Accra. “The outcome will shape policy discourse across the continent for a generation.”

What Happens Next

The 2027 election campaign is now formally underway. Tinubu’s APC will face a yet-to-be-determined opposition candidate, with the PDP and Labour Party expected to hold primaries later this year.

In the interim, the president faces the immediate challenge of demonstrating tangible progress on his economic promises. The 2026 federal budget allocates significant resources to infrastructure, agriculture, and social safety nets, but implementation remains a perennial challenge.

Tinubu’s admission of shared hardship may resonate with some voters, but the ultimate verdict will be delivered at the ballot box in February 2027. Until then, the debate over whether the pain of reform is worth the promised gain will continue to dominate Nigeria’s political landscape.

SOURCES

• BBC News: “Tinubu Admits Hardship as He Secures APC Ticket for 2027” (24 May 2026)
• Reuters: “Nigeria’s Tinubu Says He Has ‘Lost Sleep and Weight’ Over Economic Reforms” (24 May 2026)
• Channels Television: “Full Speech: President Tinubu at APC Special National Convention” (23 May 2026)
• Premium Times: “Tinubu’s Economic Reforms: Two Years of Pain, No Gain?” (22 May 2026)
• TheCable: “APC 2027: Tinubu Wins Unopposed at Party Convention” (23 May 2026)