“Amaechi: Obasanjo Was the Last President to Create Nigeria’s Middle Class”
Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has pointed to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo as the last leader to successfully foster a middle class in Nigeria. Amaechi, speaking at a two-day event themed “Strengthening Nigeria’s Democracy: Pathway to Good Governance and Political Integrity,” noted that Obasanjo’s leadership created an economy that generated jobs, which contributed to the establishment of the middle class.
The event, which took place in Abuja, was organized by several notable institutions, including the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) and the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD). During a panel discussion on the “Impact of democracy on the national economy,” Amaechi decried the increasing disparity between the rich and poor in Nigeria, which he attributed to the absence of a functional middle class.
He said, “The last time we had the middle class was under President Olusegun Obasanjo. He created an economy that generated jobs. Even though some argued it was a shaky middle class that disappeared at the end of every month when salaries were paid, at least we had a middle class.”
Amaechi further lamented that today, the divide between the wealthy and the impoverished is stark, with few opportunities for Nigerians to climb the economic ladder. He emphasized that if the government had implemented key policies such as social housing and investments in agriculture alongside subsidy removal, Nigerians would not have felt the economic impact as severely.
He concluded, “Now, it’s either you are rich or you are poor. If those initiatives had been pursued, the effects wouldn’t be so harsh.”
