Bayo Onanuga attacks Oseni Rufai economic illiterate debt Nigeria Tinubu
Veteran journalist and presidential aide Bayo Onanuga has publicly attacked media personality Oseni Rufai, branding him an “economic illiterate” after the latter published commentary accusing Bola Tinubu of being the mastermind behind Nigeria’s rising debt crisis. Onanuga’s rebuke comes amid a broader battle between the presidency and its critics over fiscal policy and borrowing under Tinubu.
Oseni Rufai, a journalist with Arise TV, had taken to social media to assert that the Tinubu administration had borrowed excessively — citing bond issuances and domestic debt accumulating in excess of ₦20 trillion in a single year. He accused the president of orchestrating Nigeria’s current debt escalation rather than merely inheriting it.
In response, Onanuga challenged Rufai’s analysis, stating that Tinubu did not initiate the debt burden but stepped into a “dead economy” overwhelmed by the financial excesses of previous administrations. He cited figures such as a reduction in the debt service-to-revenue ratio and the repayment of an IMF loan under Tinubu’s watch as evidence of the current government’s corrective actions. Onanuga further dismissed Rufai’s assertions as lacking rigorous economic understanding and framed them as politically motivated rather than a considered critique.
The spat exposes deeper fault-lines within Nigerian public discourse about economic responsibility, reform and accountability. On one side, critics argue that the current administration has significantly increased borrowing and pass-on burdens to future generations. On the other hand, the presidency insists that borrowing per se is not the problem — it is how funds are used and the legacy constraints upon which the government now acts. Onanuga, reflecting the latter view, asserted that borrowing is “not a sin” when managed properly and that Tinubu’s government is redirecting the country towards sustainable growth.
The exchange underscores how debt and economic policy remain high-stakes terrain in Nigeria. With citizens facing inflation, currency pressures and rising costs of governance, narratives about which administration is to blame — and what constitutes responsible borrowing — are intensely contested. As such, the presidency’s sharp reaction to Rufai’s commentary signals how sensitive the government is to criticisms tying it directly to the debt problem.
