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Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 2 April 2024 

 

 

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Exposure to Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” Viral Video 

on Social Media and its Influence on Audience Perception of 

His Economic Policies 

 

By 

Casmir U. Obiakor & Chinonso C. Adikuru 

 

 

 

 

Abstract 

President Ahmed Bola Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC) while making 

his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, as he was being sworn as the new 

president of Nigeria, said “Let the Poor Breathe”. The statement became a 

popular sound bite as this video went viral on various social media platforms.  

With the economic policies of President Tinubu, especially the removal of fuel 

subsidy and floating of Naira against the dollar which have led to inflation, there 

is a growing concern as to whether Tinubu actually wants to let the poor breathe. 

This research work, among other objectives, investigates audience perception of 

Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” comment which went viral on social media and 

how the comment influences people’s perception of his economic policies. The 

Focus Group Discussion (FGD) method was used to study 60 purposively 

selected participants among Anambra State civil servants at the State’s 

Secretariat, Awka. The study was anchored on the Reception and Perception 

theories. The result showed that respondents were well exposed to the “Let the 

Poor Breathe” video and their main sources of exposure were WhatsApp, Twitter 

and Facebook. The study also found that respondents had negative perception of 

the comment, seeing it as a mockery of the poor after his economic policies of 

fuel subsidy removal and floating of the Naira which led to inflation in the 

country. The respondents see President Tinubu as being insincere towards the 

poor as his harsh economic policies have worsened the condition of the poor in 

Nigeria. The study recommends that President Tinubu should introduce short-

term policies that will reduce the hardship faced by many Nigerians, including the 

poor, in addition to palliatives he has promised to give to the poor. 

Keywords: “Let the Poor Breathe” viral video, exposure, social media, influence, 

perception, economic policies. 

 



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Introduction 

For most observers, the significance of the mass media for public 

policymaking arises from the fact that the media shape public opinion, 

thereby forcing political actors to respond to popular preferences (Voltmer 

& Koch-Baumgarten, 2007). The mass media in the political process has 

changed fundamentally from playing the role of a rather passive conveyor 

of messages to discharging the duties of a political actor in its own right. 

As a large body of literature suggests, the media is now taking an active 

part in the public representation of politics by shaping the agenda of 

political discourse and by contributing their own preferences in political 

controversies (Bennett & Entman 2001; Voltmer & Koch-Baumgarten, 

2007).    

The mass media in every democratic society is established as an important 

organ of information sourcing and dissemination, provision of electoral 

education, surveillance, social enlightenment and mobilization (Oshega, et 

al., 2017). Thomas Jefferson, former American president, avers that since 

the basis of democracy was the opinion of the people, if it were left for 

him to decide whether his country should have a government without the 

mass media or mass media without a government he would choose the 

latter (Akinfeleye, 2008). The above statement further emphasizes the vital 

role of the mass media in the democratic process. The power of the new 

media, particularly, in the area of timely dissemination of information is a 

trend that has gained global acceptance and is now indispensible in every 

serious communication activity. Applications such as Facebook, Twitter, 

and YouTube, as well as user-generated content websites or blogs, provide 

new ways of disseminating political information (Heblich, 2016).  

Agba & Ogri (2016) summarize the role of the mass media in a democratic 

process by stating that, during political campaigns, the media are used 

extensively by competing candidates and political parties to canvass for 

the electorates’ votes and supports. They further state that the electoral 

umpire and concerned government agencies also use the media platforms 

to educate the electorates during elections. Also, the media carry messages 

about events that reflect positively or negatively on government and other 

actors in the political arena (Agba & Ogri, 2016). These functions of the 

media make them bridge the yawning gap between the government and its 

citizens to facilitate growth and development of Nigeria’s nascent 

democracy. In contemporary times, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to 

have a functional electoral process without the mass media. 



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The mass media plays a crucial role in creating development awareness 

through transferring information to the audience and exchanging thoughts. 

Through agenda-setting function, the media conditions society’s vision 

and understanding of sports and provides a narrative that exerts a didactic 

influence on the concept of sports and physical education (Marín-Motín, 

2008; Puertas-Moleroa, Marfil-Carmona, Zurita-Ortega & Gonzalez-

Valero, 2019). It plays an effective, instructive and leading role in 

development, awakening public consciousness and raising public 

awareness by spreading novel ideas through information dissemination. 

This makes it possible for people to understand trend of events in their 

surroundings and premise decision making regarding personal and social 

issues on clearer and more updated information (Kumari, 2019). This also 

helps individuals get familiar with their social responsibilities, especially 

for development. Furthermore, media messages are developed according to 

criteria of topicality, objectivity and simplicity, which aim to produce a 

message with the widest reach possible (Sherwood & Nicholson, 2017).  

Studies show that mass media are promising channels for providing 

information that potentially influences behaviour of audiences on a large 

scale (Xavier et. al., 2013; Liu, 2020). Social media are channels and 

messaging apps that are very effective in dissemination of information. 

Social media, as a concept, was first coined by Tim O'Reilly and Dale 

Dougherty (Beetseh, Olise & Tor-Akwer, 2021). Social media platforms 

have been described as places for adding or editing information or a web 

which allows people to make use of digital tools to create, change and 

publish dynamic content (Okike, Terna & Beetseh, 2019; Tor-Akwer, 

2019).   

President Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC) while making his 

inaugural speech on May 29. 2023, as he was being sworn as president of 

Nigeria, said “Let the Poor Breathe”. In his maiden speech on Democracy 

Day on June 12, 2023, President Tinubu made what sounded like two 

impressive sound-bites which tended to give the impression that he would 

be a people-friendly leader. He told Nigerians: “I share your pains” with 

regard to the harsh economic experience occasioned by the 

commencement of implementation of the petrol subsidy removal. 

President Tinubu was seen on a viral video saying: “Let the poor breathe, 

don’t suffocate them”. He made the statement on May 29, 2023, during his 

inauguration as the new president of Nigeria. He announced the final 

removal of petrol subsidy right there at the inauguration venue. His 

government also announced the floating of the naira – an exchange rate 

system that eliminates a fixed price for forex trading within the country, 

thereby introducing an exchange rate method where the local currency is 



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set by the forces of demand and supply within the forex market (Tijani, 

2023). These two economic policies led to inflation and fall in standard of 

living, thereby giving the impression that the president was saying one 

thing while his government is walking a different, in fact opposite, road. 

It is against this background that this study seeks to analyze audience 

perception of Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” comment which went viral 

on social media and how the comment influences people’s perception of 

his economic policies. It provides an insight into how the citizens of 

Nigeria perceive the president’s economic policies based on media 

exposure to his comments.  

Statement of the Problem 

The perception of government in power could affect public support for its 

policies. A negative perception could lead to lack of support or belief in 

the policy of a particular government in power. Comments of political 

leaders could influence perceptions which the public have about them. If 

the comment about the poor as made by Tinubu is perceived in bad light, 

this could affect public support for his administration’s policies and lead to 

lack of belief in his administration. This is why it is important to find out 

whether Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” comment is perceived in bad 

light by Nigerians, especially as it affects his economic policies.   

Okoro and Nwafor (2013) observed that there is “social media war” taking 

place on the various social media platforms in Nigeria, which could make 

most members of the public to lose confidence in the social media and to 

raise questions about this media’s viability as an important tool for public 

discussion and as a means of reaching government officials in the country. 

Therefore, it is important to look into the effectiveness and the role of 

social media outlets as platforms for political dialogue among Nigerians. 

The effect of the social media on political participation has been studied, 

but whether comments in reaction to president Tinubu’s “Let the Poor 

Breathe” statement influenced people’s perception of his economic 

policies, especially as it pertains to fuel subsidy removal and floating of 

the naira, has not received analytical attention. To fill this gap, this study 

investigated the audience exposure to the viral video on president Tinubu’s 

“Let the Poor Breathe” comment and its influence on perception of his 

economic policies. It is possible that the viral social media video may have 

influenced perception of his economic policies and a negative perception 

of government policy could discourage public support for such policies. 

To the best of this researcher’s knowledge, no study has looked at 

president Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” comment and its influence on 



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perception of his economic policies. It is this gap in knowledge that this 

study intends to fill. 

Objectives of the Study 

 To ascertain the frequency of exposure to Tinubu’s “Let the Poor 

Breathe” video on social media by respondents in Awka. 

 To ascertain the source of exposure to Tinubu’s “Let the Poor 

Breathe” video by respondents in Awka. 

 To find out respondents’ perception of Tinubu’s “Let the Poor 

Breathe” comment. 

 To ascertain respondents’ perception of Tinubu’s economic policies in 

relation to his “Let the Poor Breathe” comment. 

Significance of the Study 

The findings of the study will provide insight to political parties on the 

role played by social media in shaping public opinion on government 

policies. The use of media to create a favourable image that influences 

public acceptance of government policies is very essential, and political 

parties and politicians need to know how this strategy shapes public 

discourse on policy acceptance by the people.   

This study is also very important to students, researchers and scholars in 

communication and related disciplines as the findings would contribute to 

literature on social media influence and the effect of public opinion on 

government policy acceptance. Evidence from available literature indicates 

a paucity of studies like this, especially how comments by political office 

holders disseminated through social media platforms influence public 

opinion on government policies among residents of Awka, Anamabra 

State, Nigeria. Most studies of this nature were done in the Western world 

and, given the obvious dissimilarities in the socio-political, environmental 

and cultural settings of Western societies and the Nigerian society, there is 

every need for literature from a local study, like this one, on assessment of 

exposure to social media and its influence on perception of government 

policy.  

Theoretical Framework 

Reception Theory 

Reception theory presents media users as active interpreters of media 

contents. Also known as reception analysis, the theory was founded based 



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on the principles first put forward by the Birmingham School of Thought, 

led by Stuart Hall (Idakwo & Oloruntola, 2020). It stipulates that people 

interpret texts they are exposed to in different independent ways. McQuail 

(2010) explains that the essence of reception is the construction and 

negotiation of meaning between the message source and its receiver. 

Reception theory provides explanation on the existence of diverse groups 

in the society, with the dominant group mostly seeking to impose its 

interpretation of culture on all other groups.  

Reception analysis is one standard for measuring media audiences, as this 

analysis attempts to offer a meaning for understanding media texts (print, 

electronic, internet) by first getting to understand how media text 

characters are read by audiences (Aminudin, 2018). People who analyze 

the media using the reception study pay attention to the experience of the 

audience members exposed to the media, including understanding how the 

experience shapes the meaning being created.  

Morley (1992), one of the leading researchers that made use of Hall's 

model in an influential analysis of the television show “Nationwide” 

audience, summarizes the premises of Hall's encoding/decoding model 

thus: 

 Individuals can encode the same story or event in more than one 

way. 

 The message usually conveys more than one potential “reading”.  

What this means is that messages propose or "prefer" a specific 

reading over others, but those messages can never become wholly 

closed around one reading: a television text remains polysemic 

(which means that it is capable of passing across a variety of 

interpretations). 

 Decoding and understanding the message constitute a problematic 

practice, not minding how transparent and "natural" the act may 

look like. Messages that were encoded in a particular way can 

always be decoded in a different way (Morley, 1992). 

Morley (1992) says that a negotiated reading refers to an audience member 

accepting the preferred reading but at the same time modifies it so that it 

will reflect his or her own interests, position, or experience. Oppositional 

reading is anti-hegemonic and has to do with the process whereby media 

users reject the existing frame of the preferred reading and provide an 

alternative frame of reference. Hall says that in this reading, the audience 

member “detotalises the message in the preferred code in order to 

retotalise the message within some alternative framework of reference. 



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This is the case of the viewer who listens to a debate on the need to limit 

wages, but also 'reads' every mention of 'the national interest' as 'class 

interest'” (Hall in McQuail, 2002, p. 308). It is important to emphasize the 

fact that these three readings are moments of decoding that lie in the realm 

of pragmatics. In other words, the media users’ interpretations of the 

television text are above the levels of semantics and syntactics. The media 

users understand the literal meanings and whether what they read are 

dominant, negotiated, or oppositional actually depends on the connoted 

meaning (and pragmatic codes) of the text. 

Stuart Hall argues that the media offer the guiding myths that shape 

interpretations which individuals hold about the world (Griffin 2012; 

Aminudin, 2018). Hall further dismissed the claim of only one existing 

interpretation for media messages and emphasized that to achieve this 

interpretation an individual has to interface with different groups. Griffin 

(2012, p. 347) cited Stuart Hall who emphasized that culture is primarily 

concerned with the production and exchange of meanings. This 

presentation makes the reception theory apt for the current study which is 

premised on audience members’ reception, interpretation and perception of 

social media video on Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” as it concerns how 

his policies on fuel subsidy and Naira floating against the dollar affect the 

lives of the poor in Nigeria. 

Perception Theory 

In view of the fact that the subject matter of this work is basically focused 

on perception of Presdient Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” comment and 

how it influences perception of his economic policies, it becomes essential 

to adopt the theory of perception for this study. There are two: the self-

perception theory and the cognitive dissonance theory. First, the theory of 

self-perception, inspired by B. F. Skinner’s analyses, refers to when 

individuals come to “know” or have better understanding of their own 

attitudes, emotions and other personal states largely by drawing 

conclusions from observing their own behavior and/or the situations in 

which this behavior occurs (Baran, 2002). 

The process of media audience perception involves four stages of selective 

exposure, selective perception, selective attention and selective retention, 

which fall within the selective process, a postulation of Festinger Leon in 

1957 while pioneering this line of thought (Festinger, 1957; Folarin, 1998; 

Baran, 2002). Research often emphasizes on the study of these selective 

process, especially in dealing with media audience perception and 

attitudinal change.        



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Selective exposure entails a process where individuals expose themselves 

to selected messages and, because of this, it is difficult for other messages 

to have effect on them. The concept of selective retention assumes that 

people remember best and longest those messages that are consistent with 

their pre-existing attitudes and beliefs. People tend to retain messages that 

are useful to them when they are exposed to a certain medium. Two people 

cannot have the same interest (Folarin, 1998; Baran, 2002; Agbanu, 2013). 

The concept of selective perception predicts that people will interpret 

messages in a manner consistent with their pre-existing attitudes and 

beliefs. Finally, selective attention says that because the eye processes 

information much faster than the brain can interpret, the human brain has 

to select which information to pay attention to at any given time. 

Perception theory is very essential to this study because it has to do with 

the perception of the people about Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” 

comment and how his economic policies, especially fuel subsidy and 

naira-dollar exchange floating, have affected standard of living of the poor 

in Nigeria. 

The Review 

Social Media and Public Opinion Formation 

Opinion dynamics is the study of how people’s opinions evolve (Lee, 

Yang & Kim, 2022). People hold their own thoughts to issues they 

confront, and individual opinions change over time through 

communication among their peers. As mobile devices become necessities 

in people’s modern daily lives, access to media is getting easier and easier. 

People can easily express and post their thoughts and emotions about 

social issues and freely interact with others (Lee, Yang & Kim, 2022). So, 

lots of contents that have various points of view about social issues arise 

and disappear constantly in a modern society. Considering that the echo 

chamber filter bubble appears in many platforms which serve contents 

tailored to individual tastes and preferences, opinion formation is greatly 

influenced by the contents that the media provide. Therefore, the portion 

of our opinions that are shaped by what we read or watch on media cannot 

be ignored (Dong et al., 2018; Lee, Yang & Kim, 2022). 

Social media platforms have been used as powerful tools by politicians, 

marketers, brands, companies, and even individuals to achieve their goals. 

After the technological revolution dominated the world and changed our 

lifestyle and way of exchanging knowledge, social media became the most 

significant influence on public opinion. A person’s awareness, personality, 

and thinking pattern are shaped by what they acquire from the behaviours 

and information present in their surrounding environment (Lee, Yang & 



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Kim, 2022). That environment includes: family, friends, school, places of 

worship, religious practices, and any other place or means where they can 

interact with and learn from others. That can happen through face-to-face 

communication or through any cultural or artistic forms, such as books, 

music or movies (Dong et al., 2018; Pinto, et al., 2019).   

With the advent of the internet, the social media has become a major 

component of the environment that constitutes and affects human 

awareness, inclinations, opinions, and even behaviours (Pinto et al., 2019). 

It has also become the easiest way to communicate with different people 

from all over the world, access information from various sources in the 

easiest and fastest way, and learn the diverse ideologies of different 

cultures. That is how social media influences public opinion and moves the 

audience towards the desired behaviour. The role of social media in public 

opinion has been profound and evident since it started gaining attention 

and attracting interest years ago. In many countries, including Egypt, 

especially after the 2011 revolution, the understanding of the importance 

of social media has been increasing each day (Dong et al., 2018). The new 

generation, after that revolution, recognized that social media platforms 

are not just made for entertainment; they also have a crucial role in helping 

in the uprising of social movements, leading them to achieve their goals 

and changing political views (Dong et al., 2018). This has forced people 

with authority to also believe in the power of the double-edged sword 

which social media is.  

Social networks are tools used to reach and influence the public sphere. 

However, with the advent of social media, it has become an invaluable 

addition, if not the perfect replacement for the traditional platforms. Social 

movements were always an effective weapon that people used on a 

national and international level all around the world to restructure the past, 

reshape the present, and change the future of society (Pinto, et al., 2019). 

Through the social media, communication among the public sphere has 

been a lot easier. Also, considering the billions of people browsing the 

internet and including social media in their lifestyle, those social 

movements became able to reach larger audiences. This has changed the 

idea behind a public sphere, as it wasn’t exclusive to the citizens of a 

specific country. Now, social movements can reach everyone through 

Facebook, Twitter, or any other platform, making social movements an 

international matter in which everyone can participate (Lee, Yang & Kim, 

2022). 

Social media is one of the most influential contemporary tools for the 

manipulation of international, regional, and local public opinion. Through 

it, cases are made and one side can be biased at the expense of another, 



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achieved through what is known as a “trend”. Social media are used 

politically to disseminate both true and false information to help win 

victory for certain political parties (Abdelmalak, 2022). The social media 

has been significant in the springing up of many social movements. It was 

used as a channel by many social groups to launch their own brand of 

campaigns on social issues.  

This represents a general orientation towards a topic on social media sites 

that is crystallized within the framework of a group of publications. People 

adopting such trends can be personally acquainted with each other or they 

can be distant from each other (Abdelmalak, 2022). But the danger of this 

method, which affects public opinion and leads it in certain directions, is 

ignorance of the source of the topic raised, ignorance of the identity of the 

participants raising the topic, and ignorance of the topic’s objectives. 

Social media sites are used by many as tools for influencing public opinion 

to achieve different goals, including creating a collective mindset through 

which the public can be led to take up unified positions on social or 

political issues, which amounts to creating social movements 

(Abdelmalak, 2022). 

Brief on President Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” Comment and Its 

Controversy  

President Tinubu made the “Let the Poor Breathe” comment during his 

inaugural speech, after being sworn in as president, on May 29, 2023. This 

statement became what sounded like an impressive sound-bite which 

tended to give the impression that he would be a people-friendly leader. 

President Tinubu was seen on a viral video saying: “Let the poor breathe, 

don’t suffocate them” (Odeleke, 2023). He announced the final removal of 

petrol subsidy right there at the inauguration venue. His government also 

announced the floating of the naira, an exchange rate mechanism that 

eliminates the practice of fixing naira’s exchange rate, thereby allowing 

the forces of demand and supply to determine the local currency’s rate 

within the forex market (Tijani, 2023). These two economic policies led to 

inflation and fall in standard of living, thereby giving the impression that 

the president was saying one thing while his government was doing a 

different thing. 

Analysts were of the opinion that Tinubu was not sincere with his 

comment about the poor as his policies were in no way helping the poor to 

breathe. Some analysts felt he did not understand who the poor in Nigeria 

are. According to Amadi (2023),  

when we discuss about the poor in Nigeria, we are not just 

discussing about the more than 93million citizens who are formally 



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captured as living below official poverty lines. We are not talking 

only about the 134million citizens who do not have access to the 

barest basics of health, education, and recreational facilities in rural 

and urban Nigeria, or the additional 7.1million Nigerians that the 

World Bank predicts will fall into deeper poverty because of 

government’s removal of subsidy and spikes in energy costs. When 

we discuss about the poor in Nigeria, it includes the millions who, 

though officially not poor, are continually exposed to plenty risks of 

such nature that if any of them crystallizes, they are flung into deep 

poverty. Poverty in Nigeria is not just numbers; it is pervasive 

vulnerabilities and incapacities. 

Analysts argue that successive Nigerian governments have paid lip service 

to the question of acute poverty and inequality because, in the eyes of an 

irresponsible State, poverty is basically a personal problem for millions 

left behind (Odeleke, 2023). Even the poor themselves do not seem to 

begrudge society as is done in other societies where increasing poverty 

often leads to violent conflicts. It seems that the Nigerian poor are a more 

charitable lot. But despite the social psychology of poverty in Nigeria, it 

remains a real threat to national prosperity and survival. Nigeria’s future is 

partly tied to her ability to drastically reduce poverty (Odeleke, 2023; 

Amadi, 2023).  

For decades, the elite have held Nigeria down and sabotaged every reform 

effort. It is to their credit that the poor in the country are going through the 

worst moment of their lives (Odeleke, 2023). Among the downtrodden, 

things have fallen apart and it has become increasingly difficult for the 

poor to earn a living. Every right-thinking Nigerian, including President 

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, agrees that it is time the poor breathed (Odeleke, 

2023). 

Analysts suggest that the president should go beyond mere words to put 

other things in place for the poor to truly breathe as he said. For the poor to 

breathe, the fuel subsidy must go as the president told the nation during his 

inauguration. This is because fuel subsidy is the channel through which the 

corrupt elite enriched themselves, claiming subsidies on products they 

never supplied, or inflated or directed to neighbouring Benin Republic, 

Niger, Chad and Cameroon. For the poor to breathe, the education system 

needs surgery (Odeleke, 2023). For the poor to breathe, Nigeria’s security 

situations have to change. Farmlands from Owo to Mubi to Eket to 

Okigwe have to be safe for the farmers. Kidnappings and banditry have to 

stop. For the poor to breathe, the nation’s health system must begin to 

work, among other suggestions by analysts (Odeleke, 2023). It is based on 

the effects of the policies of Tinubu’s government and the hardship that 

Nigerians are passing through that this study seeks to ascertain the 



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perception of residents of Awka on whether the president is truly keeping 

to his words which went viral in the social media that he wants the poor to 

breathe.  

Brief Look at Two Economic Policies: Fuel Subsidy Removal and 

Floating of Naira 

Floating of Naira: Nigeria floated the Naira on June 14, 2023; this 

weakened the currency by over 70 percent compared to the N460 per USD 

level it traded before the reform. The currency now trades at almost N850 

per USD in the parallel (black) market though in a fluctuating manner. 

Floating the naira presents a complex decision for the Nigerian 

government though this policy can enhance export competitiveness, attract 

investment, and signal economic reforms but also carries risks such as 

increased exchange rate volatility and potential inflationary pressures.  

Over the years, the Nigerian government has employed various measures 

to manage its currency, the naira, including pegging it at a specific 

exchange rate. This naturally created two exchange rates, the official and 

the black market (Tijani, 2023; Eromosele, 2023). The disparity between 

the two provided an avenue for people with access to dollars to buy at the 

official rate and resell at the black market. Many millionaires and a few 

billionaires were created through this distorted system. Floating the 

exchange rate is meant to solve this problem. The idea of floating the naira 

has, however, remained a subject of debate as it is viewed by experts to 

have both potential advantages and risks which can affect the standard of 

living (Eromosele, 2023). 

Floating a country’s currency, also known as a floating exchange rate, 

refers to a monetary system where the value of a nation’s currency is 

determined by market forces such as supply and demand. In this system, 

the currency’s exchange rate fluctuates freely in response to various 

economic factors, including inflation, interest rates, trade balances, and 

capital flows (Tijani, 2023). This means that the naira’s value would 

fluctuate in response to economic factors, including inflation, interest 

rates, and foreign investment. While this volatility can be unsettling in the 

short term, it can also help promote economic adjustments and improve 

competitiveness in the long run. The Central Bank of Nigeria would need 

to implement effective monetary policies, such as interest rate adjustments 

and tight fiscal measures to manage inflation and maintain price stability 

(Eromosele, 2023). 

Removal of Fuel Subsidy: On Monday 29th May, 2023, in his inaugural 

speech, President Bola Tinubu said that Nigeria’s fuel subsidies would be 



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scrapped, citing budgetary concerns. The decision led to a steep rise in fuel 

prices and widespread panic-buying of fuel. Some bus companies have 

been unable to refuel their vehicles, leaving many people stranded. Barely 

two days after the announcement, the state oil company, NNPC Limited, 

reviewed the pump price of petrol from N189 per litre to between N480 

and N570 per litre – more than 200 per cent increase (Yusuf, 2023). 

Officials of NNPC argued that the adjustment in petrol prices with market 

rates will promote competition and efficiency in the oil market and drop 

prices naturally as prices would continue to fluctuate to reflect market 

dynamics (Yusuf, 2023). This policy has led to price increase of various 

products in the country and is adversely affecting the people. Businesses 

were eventually affected as this policy led to rise in the prices of goods and 

services across the country. It has to be noted that the price of fuel is still 

on continuous rise even to the tone of N670.  

Methodology 

This study adopted the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) method. The 

population of this study was made up of civil servants working for 

Anambra State. The study focused on civil servants working in Ministries 

at the State’s secretariat. The total population is 3162 (Source: Office of 

the Head of Service of the State). The ministries are Information, Health, 

Housing and Urban Development, Judiciary, Education and Science and 

Technology. Since this is an exploratory study, the researcher randomly 

selected 72 civil servants from the six State’s Ministries. The selection was 

based on the researcher’s discretion and convenience. The purposive 

sampling technique was used to select the 72 civil servants who agreed to 

be part of the study. This figure was then used as the sample size. Six (6) 

FGD sessions were held altogether, one each for the six (6) ministries that 

were randomly selected from the State ministries. Only those who saw the 

“Let the Poor Breathe” videos circulated on social media which showed 

President Tinubu making the comment during his inauguration in Abuja 

were selected for the study. The FGD sessions lasted for an average of 50 

minutes per session with a distribution of 12 participants in each session. 

The FGD sessions took place between the hours of 12noon and 4pm on 

week days within the period of research. The choice of timing was so 

designed to fit into the break periods of the workers and the time they said 

they could take excuse from their offices to be part of the study. An 

interview question guide was used for the study.  

Data Presentation and Analysis 

Research Question One: What is the frequency of exposure to 

Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” video on social media by 



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respondents in Awka? 

During this session, all the respondents agreed that they watched the video 

very often on their social media platforms. They also said that they shared 

the video to friends on social media. According to Madam Chinwe, one of 

the participants from Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, “I 

watched the video several times because I found it very funny. Just that I 

started feeling that Tinubu was not sincere with the comment when he 

removed subsidy and things got worse.” Her position was corroborated by 

other participants in the various FGD sessions who said they were 

frequently exposed to the video on Let the Poor Breathe’ which was said 

by President Tinubu. Majority of the participants said they were exposed 

to the video frequently as several friends shared the video on social media 

where you could see it more than once.  

Research Question Two: What is the source of exposure to Tinubu’s 

“Let the Poor Breathe” video by respondents in Awka? 

Most of the participants, during this session, said they mostly saw 

Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” video on Facebook, Twitter and 

WhatsApp platforms. These were the top three platforms through which 

the participants saw the video. Very few mentioned TikTok as the platform 

they first saw the video. According to Nnamdi, one of the participants 

from Ministry of Information, “I saw it several times on Facebook. A lot 

of my friends on Facebook posted it on their walls.” Another participant, 

Grace from the Ministry of Education said she saw it on Twitter and a lot 

of her friends watched it on Twitter with her. She said, “I saw it on Twitter 

and my friends watched it with me on Twitter. At a point that video was 

trending on Twitter”. Many other participants said they saw it on 

WhatsApp and shared it to friends on WhatsApp. From the discussions it 

was clear that most participants saw the video of Tinubu’s “Let the Poor 

Breathe” comment on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.  

Research question three: What is the respondents’ perception of 

Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” comment? 

Most of the participants saw it as a mockery of the poor in Nigeria. 

Though some of them said initially they thought Tinubu was being sincere 

with the comment, but immediately he announced the removal of subsidy 

and the effects started biting hard on the country they knew he was not 

sincere about letting the poor breathe. One participant identified as Alex, 

with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, said, “I had always 

known that he was not serious with the comment because of his 

antecedents as a politician who made promises in the past, especially 



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during his party’s campaign for ex-president Buhari’s election, but they 

never fulfilled their promises. So I knew he was joking; in fact, he was 

mocking the poor”. Another participant from the Ministry of Education 

said, “How could anyone have believed what Tinubu said about the poor? 

Well, you can see for yourself that it was an insincere comment”. Other 

participants corroborated this view by saying that Tinubu’s comment was 

insincere and the usual rhetoric of politicians. 

Research question four: What is the respondents’ perception of 

Tinubu’s economic policies in relation to his ‘Let the Poor Breathe’ 

comment? 

During this session, participants said that they were not confident about the 

seriousness of President Tinubu as regards his economic policies, 

especially fuel subsidy removal and floating of the Naira which had led to 

untold hardship on Nigerians. There was a consensus among participants 

on a negative perception of Tinubu’s economic policies, especially as it 

has to do with his sincerity of purpose. They said that a man who removed 

subsidy and floated the naira without first putting in place measures to 

address the hardship is not really serious about letting the poor breathe, as 

he said in the viral video. One of the participants from the Ministry of 

Justice, Emmanuel, said, “I don’t believe he is serious about letting the 

poor breathe. His economic policies do not show that he has the poor at 

heart.” Another participant from the Ministry of Science and Technology, 

Madam Ifunanya said, “His policies are against the people. It does not 

show he has any feeling for what the people are suffering. His policies do 

not show he has the interest to let the poor breathe.” Other participants 

corroborated the view that Tinubu’s economic policies are not favourable 

to Nigerians and that he does not have the interest of the poor at heart, 

although very few participants also mentioned that it might be too early to 

condemn the president’s economic policies as it was necessary to give him 

time to see whether the policies would yield positive results. In summary, 

the participants had a negative perception of President Tinubu’s economic 

policies, especially in relation to his “Let the Poor Breathe” comment. 

Discussion of Findings 

The first research objective which is to ascertain the frequency of exposure 

to Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” video on social media by respondents 

in Awka. Data revealed that respondents were well exposed to Tinubu’s 

“Let the Poor Breathe” video on social media. Most of the respondents 

watched the video very often. From the findings, it could be seen that most 

of the respondents watched or heard the messages very often. This agrees 

with the findings of Shadrack & Apuke (2020) which states that the mass 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 2 April 2024 

 

 

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media are the primary sources of information for voters, enabling them to 

monitor politicians and to use this information in their voting decisions. 

The study also agrees with studies that suggest that social media are one of 

the major sources of information on politics for users (Duru, 2019; Aslan, 

et al., 2021, Ikegbunam & Obiakor, 2021; Obiakor, Ikegbunam & Ezeaso, 

2023). After a study, Aslan, et al. (2021) observed that social networking 

is used for effectively and efficiently interacting with the electorate, 

especially during election processes, through campaign activities. 

The second research objective is to ascertain the source of exposure to 

Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” video by respondents in Awka. The result 

showed that most of the participants saw the video on Facebook, Twitter 

and WhatsApp. These are the three social media platforms which came 

tops as the platforms that the participants exposed themselves to “Let the 

Poor Breathe” video by Tinubu. This finding also supports the assertion by 

Ahad & Lim (2014) that there is anecdotal evidence of social media 

platforms such as WhatsApp playing a central role in civic as well as 

political engagement. Similarly, Shadrach (2017) says that social media 

platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp are gaining popularity 

among citizens because they pass information freely without control of 

government, powerful politicians and advertisers as well as free of 

conventional professional bottlenecks like gate-keeping. Popular 

platforms, according to Ahad & Lim (2014), are Facebook, Twitter, 

YouTube and WhatsApp, in that order. WhatsApp users, for instance, get 

news outside the domain of family and friends and from a variety of 

topics, which enables them to meet their different information needs 

(Ahmadi, & Wohn, 2018). Some studies have demonstrated how the sense 

of collective or social identity motivate the use of WhatsApp and other 

instant messaging platforms for activism (Treré, 2018). Similarly, Obiakor 

(2022) discovered after a study that Twitter platform is more preferred and 

enjoyed by the users than the WhatsApp platform especially for exposure 

to security information; the study concluded that more people get exposed 

to such information basically through the new media platforms than 

through the traditional media.     

The third research objective seeks to ascertain the respondents’ perception 

of Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” comment. Result shows that many 

participants had a negative perception of the comment as they saw it as a 

mockery of the poor and an insincere comment from Tinubu who has a 

political background that is not credible. This is supported by studies 

which established that the media’s coverage on politics influences people’s 

political attitudes, and this includes university students (Hamad, Ichtiat & 

Zulham, 2001). Similarly, Kraus & Davis (1978) had found that the media 



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played a significant role in shaping the political attitude of voters. McNair 

(1995) also shows that the media do mould the audience’s political 

knowledge and attitudes. This also supports the perception theory which 

says the audiences engage in selective exposure, interpretation and 

retention of information they are exposed to in the media (Folarin, 1998; 

Baran, 2002). The participants in this study were exposed to the Tinubu’s 

video on “Let the Poor Breathe” and interpreted it based on their 

experiences.  

The fourth research objective sought to discover the respondents’ 

perception of Tinubu’s economic policies in relation to his “Let the Poor 

Breathe” comment. This result showed a negative perception of his 

economic policies which the participants said did not show that he was 

sincere about his comment that the poor should breathe. This is supported 

by studies which establish that the media play significant role in the public 

perception of government policies (Green-Pedersen 2019; Grossman, 

2022). As Agbanu (2013) pointed out, the media set the public agenda and 

act as the gatekeeper of public issues. The findings also support the 

reception theory which stipulates that audiences interpret information they 

are exposed to in the media according to existing trends in the society 

(Idakwo & Oloruntola, 2020). People who analyze the media using the 

reception theory pay attention to the experience of the audience members 

exposed to the media, including understanding how the experience shapes 

the meaning being created (Aminudin, 2018). In relation to this study, 

participants interpreted the “Let the Poor Breathe” comment of Tinubu in 

relation to his economic policies which are causing hardship to the poor he 

was referring to.  

Conclusion 

This study investigated the exposure to Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” 

viral video on social media and its influence on perception of his economic 

policies. The study focused on civil servants working for Anambra State 

government, especially those in the State secretariat located in Awka, the 

capital city. The researcher chose to focus on civil servants in Awka based 

on discretion and convenience. Four objectives were formulated for the 

study. The Focus Group Discussion (FGD) method was adopted for the 

study. Data revealed that participants were exposed to Tinubu’s “Let the 

Poor Breathe” viral video on social media. It was also found that 

respondents saw the video on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsaApp more 

often than on other social media platforms. The participants had negative 

perception of Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” comment as they saw it as a 

mockery of the poor and an insincere comment from the president. The 

participants also had a negative perception of Tinubu’s economic policies 



Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), Vol. 3, No. 2 April 2024 

 

 

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in relation to his comment on “Let the Poor Breathe”. These findings were 

analyzed showing how they supported the Reception and Perception 

theories, including their relationship to other researches done in this area 

of study. 

Recommendations 

Based on the findings of this study the following recommendations are put 

forward: 

1. Political office holders in Nigeria should stand true to their words and 

make sure their actions and policies are a reflection of the comments they 

make in the media as this affects public support for their policies. 

2. Political office holders should utilize the social media in advocating for 

public support for their policies since these media play essential roles in 

shaping public perception of government policy acceptance by the people. 

3. Government administrations at State and Federal levels should combine 

both mainstream and social media in projecting policies and programmes 

to the public with a view to gaining support for such policies. This also 

includes use of both private and government owned media.  

4. The researcher recommends further studies in this area of study, 

especially in other States in the country to check the perception of the 

people in other states regarding Tinubu’s “Let the Poor Breathe” comment 

and its relationship to his economic policies. 

 

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Author Information: Dr Casmir U. Obiakor is a lecturer 

in the Department of Mass Communication, 

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam 

Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria. Email: casfranklin 

@ymail.com 

 

 

 

 

Dr Chinonso C. Adikuru is a lecturer in the Department 

of Mass Communication, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu 

Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus, Anambra State, 

Nigeria. Email: cc.adikuru@coou.edu.ng 

 

 

 

 
 

APA 

 

Obiakor, C. U., & Adikuru, C. C. (2024). Exposure to Tinubu’s ‘Let 

the Poor Breathe’ Viral Video on Social Media and its Influence on 

Audience Perception of His Economic Policies. Global Online 

Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), 3(2), 7-31. 

https://klamidas.com/gojar-v3n2-2024-01/. 

 

MLA 

 

Obiakor, Casmir U. and Adikuru, Chinonso C. “Exposure to 

Tinubu’s ‘Let the Poor Breathe’ Viral Video on Social Media and its 

Influence on Audience Perception of His Economic Policies”. 

Global Online Journal of Academic Research (GOJAR), vol. 3, no. 

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