The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has criticised Nigerians who attacked the World Bank on social media over loans extended to Nigeria, saying the backlash reflected a lack of understanding of how the institution operates.
Oyedele spoke on Wednesday in Abuja during a media briefing on the Federal Government’s economic reform scorecard.
He said some Nigerians had flooded the World Bank’s social media account with criticism over its decision to lend to Nigeria, prompting the institution to disable comments.
“People went to the social media account of the World Bank to go and be abusing them that they’re giving Nigeria loan. World Bank just switch off the comments. We’ve gotten the loan because that’s not how the system works,” he said.
Oyedele used an Automated Teller Machine analogy to explain why he believes criticism of economic systems without understanding how they operate can be counterproductive.
He described a hypothetical situation in which people unfamiliar with how an ATM works see others withdrawing money and conclude that the government is allowing only certain individuals to access funds.
According to him, such people could mobilise against the system without understanding that money must first be deposited into a bank before it can be withdrawn.
“Some people who have no knowledge of how it works. They said why is government allowing some people withdraw money here and they’re not giving to the rest of us,” he said.
He said leaders could emerge from such a group and demand that everyone be allowed to withdraw money.
“So some leaders emerged from their group and said this is not fair government has to and then they went and destroyed the ATM, beat up some other people withdrawing money there and they were hailing their hero,” Oyedele said.
He added that such actions would not solve the underlying problem.
“Yes, let everybody withdraw money from the ATM. They haven’t put money in the bank,” he said.
Oyedele said destroying the ATM or attacking other users would ultimately leave protesters without access to funds.
“After breaking the bank and the ATM and beating people up, they still can’t collect money ’cause that’s not how the system works,” he said.
The minister said the analogy applied to the way some Nigerians approach economic issues, arguing that a lack of understanding of the systems behind economic policies could lead to wasted effort.
“If you don’t understand how the system works, you waste energy,” he said.
Oyedele also stressed that Nigerians needed accurate knowledge to effectively hold government accountable.
“Part of your ability to hold government to account is having the right knowledge. If you don’t, you’re wasting your energy,” he said.
The minister further warned against manipulating economic data for political purposes, saying some individuals could interpret figures from the reform scorecard to advance their political interests.
“I know what’s going to happen after today now is some people will take this data and turn it upside down for campaign,” Oyedele said.
He urged Nigerians to consider whether their actions were contributing to national development or undermining it.
“And you have to be honest with yourself. Are you trying to build your country or you are trying to tear it apart?” he asked.
The briefing, held at the Federal Ministry of Finance, formed part of the presentation titled “Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard: The Benefits and Harms Prevented.”
The exercise followed President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy to publicly account for the gains, costs and impacts of the administration’s economic reforms since 2023.
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