By George Ozalla
In a stirring national address delivered on October 1, 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu told Nigerians the “worst is over,” seeking to rally a weary populace around a narrative of recovery after a period of profound economic strain. Marking Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day, the president reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to reforms and appealed for renewed faith in the country’s trajectory.
Opening his speech with tributes to the founding fathers and the ideals of freedom, Tinubu acknowledged the arduous path Nigeria has traversed since 1960. He framed his term in office as one forced into difficult but unavoidable decisions: ending fuel subsidies, unifying multiple foreign exchange rates, and shifting resources toward sectors long neglected — education, health, infrastructure, and security. He argued that these reforms were not ideological gambles, but urgent course corrections necessary to rescue a moribund economy.
According to the president, those corrections are now bearing fruit. He cited a second-quarter growth rate of 4.23 percent — the fastest in four years — and an inflation rate of 20.12 percent in August, a lull he described as the lowest in three years. Tinubu disclosed that external reserves have surged to US$42.03 billion, asserting this was the strongest reserve position since 2019. He also pointed to a record N330 billion disbursed to eight million vulnerable households, as part of his social investment programme, and highlighted gains in non-oil exports now representing 48 percent of export volume. With trade surpluses in five consecutive quarters, he argued that Nigeria had become “a net exporter,” gradually shifting from oil dependency to a more diversified economy.
On security, Tinubu claimed victories against insurgency, banditry, and violent crime, particularly in the North-East and North-West, and said that liberated communities were seeing returning residents. He urged continued support for the armed forces, whose sacrifices he said undergirded the fragile peace.
Turning to governance and shared responsibility, the president issued a clarion call to Nigerians: pay taxes, patronize locally made goods, invest time and energy into productive endeavors. He launched specific appeals to youth, emphasizing that schemes such as NELFUND, YouthCred, and iDICE (for creatives and tech entrepreneurs) would continue to provide support. He urged state and local governments to cooperate fully, insisting that national progress demands unity across layers of governance.
Yet, even as Tinubu painted a confident portrait, he did not shy from the hardships that persist. He conceded that inflation and the cost of living remain serious burdens, describing them, however, as temporary pains that had to be endured to avoid collapse. He warned that success would be measured not just in macroeconomic metrics but in everyday outcomes — food on tables, hospitals in service, electricity in homes, security in neighborhoods.
The speech drew swift reactions. Supporters praised the tone of renewal and the president’s effort to champion national resilience. Critics, however, questioned the depth of the recovery and called for more transparency around the social investment disbursements. Some analysts cautioned that economic data, while improving, remain fragile: inflation remains high by global standards, and a majority of Nigerians still live under deep economic stress.
As Nigeria enters its 66th year of nationhood, Tinubu’s Independence Day address stakes his administration’s claim to a turning point. Whether the optimism he projects will take root across the country — or be met with continued skepticism — hinges on whether the touted gains translate into durable relief for everyday Nigerians.
