Tinubu’s October 1 speech was spot on
Except for the fact that to the carpenter, every object looks like a nail, it is hard to fault the 66th Independence Day celebration speech delivered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday, October 1. But, as the Yoruba people say, ‘ka ra ile sile, ka ra oko sile, ka wa gbe fun kofe-kogba, kofe-kogba ko ni fe teni’ (someone who has made up his or her mind not to like you would not like you no matter how hard you try to please him or her). That is the lot of the Tinubu administration, especially where the ‘Obidient’ mob is concerned. The administration is always guilty as (yet to be) charged.
They would never see anything good in the government, no matter what it does. I can understand where these people are coming from, even if I don’t know where they are going. I doubt if they too know.
But President Tinubu was right when he observed that “For too long, the promise of Nigeria was undermined by choices that postponed difficult decisions and allowed deep economic distortions to grow.” The truth of the matter is that successive governments had shied away from doing the rightful such that things had degenerated before the Tinubu administration took over in 2023. Fact also is that there is a limit to how far it can go in blasting its predecessor for the state of affairs first because they belong to the same All Progressives Congress (APC), and two, President Tinubu has himself told us several times that he has accepted responsibility to fix things and would therefore not trade blames unnecessarily. NigeriaInvestment Guide
It is on this note that I welcome the President’s October 2026 Independence speech. His positions are, again, in the public domain, and to whosoever it may concern.
Tinubu traced the country’s trajectories from the very beginning, that is from October 1, 1960 when the Union Jack was lowered, signalling the end of British colonial rule in the country. The hopes; the aspirations then, and why, by and large, they seem still far-fetched.
He talks about the hardworking nature of Nigerians, from “the efforts of the farmer who rises before dawn to work his land. The trader who opens her shop each morning, hopeful for a productive day. The teacher who believes in the children entrusted to her care and the young entrepreneur who refuses to surrender ambition to circumstance.” He did not forget the contributions of the “Nigerian Armed forces and security services who place themselves in harm’s way so that the rest of us may live in peace.”
I observed the President did not use statistics in the speech. Maybe this was deliberate. Maybe not. But the fact is; not a few persons have always said that men are not led by figures alone but by what they can see and feel. May be they are right. But, the government had in many previous releases and addresses buttressed its point with facts and figures to the effect that things are gradually looking up in the country, despite the harsh effects of its economic reforms.
It had talked about the foreign reserves that have risen to an all-time-high $54.91 billion as of September 2026, up from about $35.09 billion when President Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023. Inflation too has gone down considerably, considering the prices of some stable food items in the market like rice, that sold for about N100,000 per 50kg bag about three years ago, to about N65,000-N70,000 per bag, for the high quality imported brands. It is pertinent to say that food inflation, especially, was actually going down until the American/Israeli war with Iran broke out in February, this year. This has led to higher transportation costs due to the impact of the war on the strategic Straits of Hormuz, a major passage for international oil vessels.
This should be expected, especially as Nigeria is not yet able to meet its crude supply to local refineries due to a number of factors. So, we still import fuel to augment domestic supply. That, alongside the foreign exchange rate account for the high transportation cost that is also passed on to consumers.
Even in terms of insecurity, there is a noticeable improvement. A significant number of the bandits and terrorists’ leaders had been taken out by the military and other security agencies in the last two years or so.
Whether we like it or not, there is also some improvement in the power situation in the country. This year, we have only witnessed two major nationwide total grid collapses within four days on January 23 and January 27, as against between four and 12 incidents last year, depending on the tracking source.
And, what of the students loan scheme, the National Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), from which over one million students nationwide have benefited and over ₦372.62 billion paid out cumulatively for institutional fees and upkeep. The essence is to ensure that no one is denied higher education simply on account of his or her parents’ inability to pay school fees.
We also have CREDICORP that is giving working Nigerians access to consumer credit on various items, from vehicles to solar systems and digital devices, etc.
As President Tinubu also observed, “Oil theft is down. Inflation has fallen substantially from its peak. Our foreign reserves have been rebuilt, our foreign exchange market has stabilised, and in 2025 this country recorded its highest revenue from non-oil exports in its history, exceeding $6 billion. This is real money being made by real Nigerian businesses.”
I agree to some extent with some Nigerians who are saying we are not going to eat reforms. But then, nobody is offering them reform for food. Reform is only a vehicle to a particular destination. There is no individual or organisation that does not reform one way or the other when they see the way they are going is yielding less-than-proportionate returns. So, reform is no food but its outcome could significantly impact the quality of food we eat.
Many critics behave as if these problems were created by the present government. Or think that the problems that built up over decades must be solved by an administration that is only three and a half years old. Things don’t always work that way. It is easier to destroy than to build.
I was for several years in the ‘trenches’ for the better part of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) years, and I know what we did by way of criticisms. So, I don’t have problems with government critics provided, of course, that they concentrate on kicking the ball and not the leg. This is especially as the General Elections are approaching. Let the campaigns be issue-based rather than dissipate efforts on getting one particular candidate disqualified only to start shouting foul having wasted time chasing shadows when you should be on the campaign field.
One thing you cannot take away from the president is his readiness to admit that his government’s reforms necessarily came with some pains, but they are in the national interest. If they are not carried out today, they would be undertaken at even costlier price in the future. And that future is not too far away. It is the future that would be here as early as yesterday!
One other good thing about the government is that it knows where it is going and it has made up its mind to continue the journey. Dilly-dallying is not a hallmark of a good leader. What can be done in the circumstance and indeed should be done is for the government to take more active interest in how to ameliorate the sufferings of the people, in view of the pains arising from the economic reforms. You cannot come at this time to say you would restore subsidy when we all know what we went through in the days of subsidy.
When we now hear someone who had also said he would remove subsidy more or less reversing himself; or speaking in muffled tones, then you know that is the height of desperation.
But one thing I am also not happy about is the fact that those who put us in this subsidy withdrawal conundrum are still walking the streets free, enjoying their ill-gotten wealth. They ought to be arrested and prosecuted. Yes, they will get their due comeuppance in hell, but then, they should start with the appetiser right here on earth. That is the only way to deter other people who might want to do similar things in other sectors.
All said, if you ask me; in all, the speech was spot-on. It dwelt on the challenges facing the country, what his government met on ground in 2023, and how far it has tried to resolve the issues, from economy to insecurity, agriculture, power, and what have you.
“Nigeria has corrected its course. We have passed through our own Red Sea. This is not the time to look back. Let us go forward together, with faith in ourselves, faith in our country, and faith that the sacrifices we have made will yield their reward,” President Tinubu said.
So, help the government, God.
