- Odibo Victory
President Bola Tinubu says his administration had to implement difficult economic reforms to tackle Nigeria’s longstanding structural problems and create a foundation for economic growth.
Tinubu stated this on Thursday in a nationwide broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary, recalling the economic challenges his administration inherited in 2023.
He said successive governments had avoided making difficult decisions, allowing economic distortions to deepen and negatively affect the country’s development.
“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,” he said.
The President compared Nigeria’s economic situation to that of a cancer patient who must undergo painful treatment to recover.
According to him, previous administrations focused on providing temporary relief instead of addressing the underlying problems affecting the economy.
“For too long, Nigeria’s leaders chose morphine while praying for a miracle that never came,” Tinubu said.
He said the country had committed huge resources to maintaining inefficient systems that were not sustainable in the long term.
Tinubu added that successive governments had continued to avoid difficult decisions, leaving future generations to deal with the consequences.
He said his administration decided to address the root causes of the problems through reforms despite the immediate hardship they would bring.
“When this Administration assumed office, we resolved to do things differently. We chose to excise the cancer,” he said.
The President acknowledged that the reforms had brought significant economic difficulties, but warned against mistaking the effects of the reforms for the problems they were intended to address.
“The reforms that followed were difficult. The side effects were real. Yet, we must never confuse the medicine with the disease,” he said.
Tinubu said the reforms were aimed at correcting longstanding weaknesses in the economy and putting Nigeria on a path towards greater prosperity.
