From Fiscal Policy To Power People: The Kemi Adeosun’s NiDacity Vision

When Kemi Adeosun resigned as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance in September 2018, it closed one of the most consequential and controversial chapters in the economic management of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Appointed in 2015 at a time of profound economic uncertainty, Adeosun entered office as Nigeria confronted collapsing oil prices, dwindling foreign reserves and a fragile fiscal structure heavily dependent on crude revenue.

Her exit, triggered by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate controversy, was sudden and deeply personal. Within weeks, she left Nigeria for the United Kingdom, choosing silence over spectacle as public debate raged. Yet behind the scenes, Adeosun was preparing a legal defence that would eventually clear her name.

Before the controversy, Adeosun had been one of the most influential architects of Nigeria’s economic response to recession.

As Finance Minister, she inherited an economy reeling from the 2014 oil price crash. Government revenues had plunged, states were struggling to pay salaries, and Nigeria would soon slide into its first recession in over two decades. Adeosun’s tenure was defined by attempts to stabilise public finances in an era of scarcity rather than abundance.

One of her early interventions was the Budget Support Facility for states, a lifeline that helped sub national governments meet salary obligations and avert social unrest. At the federal level, she championed fiscal discipline, pushing for tighter expenditure controls and improved transparency in public finance management.

Perhaps her most enduring policy legacy was the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), launched in 2017. VAIDS marked Nigeria’s most aggressive attempt at broadening the tax base, targeting chronic tax evasion among high-net-worth individuals and companies.

Though controversial, the scheme significantly increased non-oil revenue and altered national conversations around tax compliance and civic responsibility.

Adeosun also played a central role in stabilising the economy after Nigeria slid into recession following the dramatic plunge in global oil prices to as low as $28 per barrel. Confronted with collapsing revenues and mounting fiscal pressure, she championed structural reforms aimed at restoring confidence and improving efficiency in government.

Under her watch, technology-driven payroll audits led to the elimination of thousands of ghost workers across the public sector, saving billions of naira in recurrent expenditure.

She also strengthened the Efficiency Unit within the Ministry of Finance to curb wasteful spending, enforce value-for-money principles and plug revenue leakages.

In parallel, the whistleblower policy was introduced to encourage citizen participation in the fight against corruption, resulting in the recovery of significant sums of public funds and signalling a tougher stance on fiscal accountability.

Her tenure also coincided with a shift in Nigeria’s debt strategy. Adeosun advocated for greater reliance on long-term, concessionary borrowing to fund infrastructure, arguing that Nigeria’s problem was not debt size but revenue weakness. Under her watch, the government sought to rebalance domestic and external debt and improve debt sustainability metrics.

By the time Nigeria officially exited recession in 2017, the economy was far from robust, but it had stabilised. Growth returned, inflation began to moderate, and fiscal systems showed early signs of reform. For supporters, Adeosun represented technocratic competence in a difficult period. For critics, her policies were cautious, sometimes slow, and constrained by political realities.

That period, however, was followed by events that brought her public service to an abrupt end.

Following her resignation, Adeosun returned to the UK and focused on clearing her name through legal channels. Years later, a court of competent jurisdiction vindicated her, ruling that she had no case to answer in relation to the certificate matter. By then, however, she had already redirected her energy toward a different form of service.

In the UK, Adeosun founded DashMe Foundation, a philanthropic initiative focused on social mobility, education and empowerment. DashMe became an outlet for translating economic theory and policy experience into direct community impact, working with individuals often excluded from opportunity by circumstance rather than ability.

Those familiar with her post-government life say DashMe was both a personal healing process and a practical experiment, proof that development could be driven from the ground up, not only through national budgets and policy documents.

Today, Adeosun is preparing to take that philosophy further with Nigerian Audacity (NiDacity), a mentorship and capacity-building initiative aimed at young Nigerians navigating a fragile economy marked by inflation, unemployment and limited access to opportunity.

NiDacity is informed by her years in government by what she saw work, what failed, and where policy alone fell short.
“I’m also building something new, something focused on empowering Nigerians with knowledge, skills and access,” Adeosun said. “I’ll share more soon, but the heart of it is simple, helping people build better futures through practical tools and opportunities. We’re looking at building capacity at scale.”

Unlike traditional empowerment programmes, NiDacity is expected to focus on mindset, mentorship and skills transfer, areas Adeosun believes are essential complements to macroeconomic reform.

The initiative targets young people who must now succeed in an economy shaped by volatility, technology and global competition.

“My new project, NiDacity, is a new project to celebrate the things that make us a country with highest start up rate all over the world. The never say die, the can do spirit. We celebrate that edge that will make new businesses succed,” Adeosun said.

Her journey, from the centre of Nigeria’s economic policymaking to a quieter, people-focused mission, reflects a broader truth about leadership and legacy. Public office can end abruptly, reputations can be tested, but service need not stop.

For Kemi Adeosun, NiDacity represents both a return to Nigeria’s development conversation and a departure from politics as usual, one shaped not by titles or cabinet meetings, but by the audacity to believe that empowered citizens remain Nigeria’s greatest economic asset.