Atiku Has One Question for Tinubu: “Oga, Where Is the Subsidy Money?”

Nigeria has entered another episode of our favourite national reality show: Everybody Is Asking Where the Money Went.

This time, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has entered the group chat, and he has one very simple question for President Bola Tinubu:

“Where is the subsidy money?”

Atiku’s question comes after ASUU threatened another nationwide strike over unpaid entitlements, unresolved agreements and other issues affecting lecturers. ASUU says some of the problems include withheld salaries and unremitted deductions, while the government says it has implemented parts of its 2025 agreement with the union.

But Atiku is looking at the situation differently.

His argument is basically: You removed subsidy. Nigerians suffered. You told us the money would now be available for things like education, healthcare and infrastructure. So why are university lecturers still threatening to close shop?

And honestly, this is where Nigerian mathematics becomes interesting.

Because if subsidy has disappeared, but ASUU has not disappeared, school fees have not disappeared, transport fares have not disappeared and the general suffering has refused to disappear, Nigerians are beginning to wonder what exactly did disappear.

Apparently, only the subsidy disappeared.

Atiku says Nigerians were promised that the savings from subsidy removal would improve public services, but argues that universities are still struggling with infrastructure, funding and staff welfare. He also criticised the student loan scheme, essentially asking why government would make life more expensive and then give students loans to survive the consequences.

Which is a very Nigerian situation.

Imagine somebody collecting your money for “renovation,” returning three years later with a new receipt and saying, “Good news! I have arranged a loan so you can help me pay for the renovation.”

Atiku has therefore demanded an explanation for the subsidy savings, accusing the Tinubu administration of failing to deliver the improvements Nigerians were promised.

Meanwhile, ASUU is waiting.

Students are watching.

Parents are calculating school fees.

And Nigerians are once again performing that national exercise where everybody checks their pockets, checks the government’s pockets, and somehow nobody can find the money.

At this point, the question is no longer simply “Where is the money?”

The bigger Nigerian question is: