Some Persons Need Eyeglasses To See My Husband’s Achievements — Remi Tinubu

Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has again defended President Bola Tinubu’s record.

She suggested that Nigerians who fail to recognise the achievements of his administration may need special eyeglasses to appreciate the changes taking place in the country.

Her latest remarks, made in Abuja, came after a series of public interventions in which she has urged Nigerians to be patient with her husband’s government.

She has also defended its economic reforms and argued that the hardship associated with the policies would give way to a better future.

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Speaking at the inauguration of the Abuja headquarters of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, a group mobilising support for the president’s re-election in 2027, Mrs Tinubu cited developments at Nigerian airports as evidence of progress.

“So things are happening in Nigeria, except, you know, those who don’t see; maybe we’ll give them some, you know, Bola Tinubu eyeglasses. We are doing that, JigiBola,” she said.

The comment draws on an initiative introduced by her husband during his tenure as Lagos State governor.

Then, the Jigi-Bola programme provided eye screening, eyeglasses and surgery to beneficiaries.

The Lagos State Government relaunched the scheme in 2021.

The remark also echoed her earlier appeal to Nigerians to look beyond the immediate difficulties confronting the country and trust the administration to deliver on its promises.

In October 2022, when her husband was seeking the presidency, the then Lagos Central senator expressed confidence that his experience in Lagos State would help him address Nigeria’s problems.

Speaking on AIT, she argued that the foundations laid by the outgoing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, including infrastructure projects, could also provide a basis for further development.

“Don’t worry, we (Tinubu’s administration) will fix it, that’s all I can tell you,” she said.

She assured Nigerians that the country had good prospects.

After Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, however, his administration’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy and subsequently unify the foreign exchange market triggered sharp increases in living costs.

The twin development pressured households and businesses.

The president defended the measures as necessary to address longstanding economic distortions.

He also acknowledged that Nigerians were bearing the immediate burden of higher fuel, food and other prices.

Against this backdrop, Mrs Tinubu used Nigeria’s 63rd Independence anniversary in October 2023 to appeal for patience.

She insisted that her husband could not resolve the country’s challenges overnight.

“My husband is not a magician. He is going to work – brick by brick – and I believe and hope that you will have faith in this administration. The best is yet to come for us,” she said at an interdenominational church service in Abuja.

She added that the government was not interested in blaming previous administrations but in repairing what had been damaged.

Her latest remarks about “Bola Tinubu eyeglasses” similarly came amid public disagreement over the administration’s record.

While the First Lady has consistently presented the reforms as necessary steps towards a better future, the administration continues to face questions over the immediate cost of those measures and when their benefits will be felt more widely by Nigerians.