A social media post quoting President Bola Tinubu as advising Nigerians to “embrace poverty” has sparked fresh outrage, but the viral claim relies on a truncated version of a speech he delivered three years ago. The post, shared by user @originalproflle, states: “Poverty is not a shameful thing” — Tinubu advises Nigerians to embrace poverty.
The full quote, however, came from a cabinet retreat in November 2023, where Tinubu was charging his ministers to work towards eradicating economic hardship. “Poverty is not a shameful thing, but it’s not just acceptable. If you check your history, there’s a trace of poverty in it, but we should find a way to dig ourselves out of it,” he said at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja. In another speech that same month, he stated: “Poverty is not a shameful thing – but it is an unacceptable thing. Therefore, my vision for the Nigerian workforce is one where every citizen who wishes to be, is gainfully employed and able to take care of themselves and their family”.
The viral post strips away the second half of the sentence, turning a call for poverty eradication into an endorsement of destitution. But the manipulation of the quote does not erase the reality that, under Tinubu’s watch, poverty has deepened and millions of Nigerians are worse off than they were in 2023.
When Tinubu made that statement, he was promising to banish poverty. He told Nigerians to endure the painful removal of the petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira, assuring them that the reforms would bring prosperity. Three years later, the naira has lost more than 70 per cent of its value, food inflation has pushed basic staples beyond the reach of ordinary families, and the national debt has climbed to N166.79 trillion. A bag of onions now costs ₦300,000, four times the national minimum wage of ₦70,000. The World Bank estimated that 63 per cent of Nigerians live below the national poverty line in 2025, and 27 million faced food insecurity.
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The All Progressives Congress has been forced into damage control. Party spokesman Felix Morka argued that “poverty is something that is, you know, a feature of many societies around the globe” and insisted that Tinubu “never told you that in the first month or 100 days of my government, or in the first two years or three years, I’m gonna eradicate poverty”. Morka’s defence is a stunning admission. The President who campaigned on a promise to banish hunger is now being defended on the grounds that he never promised to do it quickly.
Meanwhile, the government’s actions tell a different story. While telling Nigerians that poverty is unacceptable, the Tinubu administration approved seven brand new 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUVs worth over ₦1 billion for APC youth leaders. The President has spent 261 days abroad on 52 foreign trips, and the Presidency’s travel bill has hit ₦37.64 billion. The Federal Government is seeking Senate approval for another $20.5 billion in foreign loans, even as previous loan-funded projects lie abandoned across the country.
The viral tweet may have taken Tinubu’s words out of context. But the anger it has triggered is rooted in a context that is entirely of his making. He told Nigerians to endure hardship because poverty was unacceptable. He promised to dig them out of it. Instead, he has dug a deeper hole, and the people are still waiting for the prosperity he promised.
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