President Bola Tinubu says difficult economic reforms were necessary to address Nigeria’s longstanding structural distortions and lay the foundation for prosperity.
Tinubu stated this on Thursday in a nationwide broadcast marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary, as he reflected on the economic circumstances that confronted his administration in 2023.
He said successive governments had postponed difficult decisions, allowing deep economic distortions to worsen and undermine the country’s development prospects.
“By 2023, poverty was rising, and hope was nearly gone. The country’s situation was darker than ever. We had no choice but to act.”
The President likened Nigeria’s economic condition to a cancer patient requiring painful treatment to achieve recovery.
He said previous leaders had prioritised temporary relief over addressing fundamental economic challenges.
“For too long, Nigeria’s leaders chose morphine while praying for a miracle that never came.”
Tinubu said the country had spent enormous resources sustaining inefficient arrangements that were never designed to endure.
He added that successive administrations had avoided difficult decisions, transferring their consequences to future generations.
According to him, his administration resolved to confront the underlying problems through reforms, in spite of their immediate economic consequences.
“When this Administration assumed office, we resolved to do things differently. We chose to excise the cancer.”
The President acknowledged that the reforms had produced difficult side effects but cautioned against confusing the treatment with the underlying economic problems.
“The reforms that followed were difficult. The side effects were real. Yet, we must never confuse the medicine with the disease.”
Tinubu said the reforms were part of his administration’s efforts to address longstanding economic weaknesses and pursue a more prosperous Nigeria.
