President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pushed back against attempts to blame his administration’s economic reforms for the hardship facing Nigerians, arguing that the country’s current difficulties are the accumulated consequences of problems that existed for decades.
Tinubu made the declaration on Thursday, October 1, 2026, in his Independence Day address to Nigerians, saying poverty, inadequate infrastructure, low productivity and insufficient opportunities had long undermined the country’s economic prospects before his administration came to power.
The President said his government inherited an economy in which difficult decisions had repeatedly been postponed, allowing structural distortions to deepen.
“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,” Tinubu said.
Using the analogy of a cancer patient, the President said Nigeria had previously been given temporary relief instead of treatment for its underlying economic problems.
“For too long, Nigeria’s leaders chose morphine while praying for a miracle that never came,” he said.
According to Tinubu, previous governments focused on managing the symptoms of the country’s economic problems while allowing the underlying weaknesses to worsen.
He said his administration therefore chose to undertake difficult reforms despite the immediate consequences.
“When this Administration assumed office, we resolved to do things differently. We chose to excise the cancer. The reforms that followed were difficult. The side effects were real. Yet, we must never confuse the medicine with the disease,” he said.
The President was emphatic that the reforms should not be blamed for the structural weaknesses they were designed to address.
“Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. They confronted them,” Tinubu said.
He also rejected calls to reverse the reforms and return to what he described as unsustainable subsidy arrangements.
“Now, as certain influential but regressive voices would have us abandon the treatment and return ourselves to the abuse of addictive subsidies, we must resist their siren song,” he said.
Tinubu acknowledged, however, that millions of Nigerians are still struggling with the cost of food, education, healthcare and transportation, but argued that their hardship cannot be attributed solely to the policies introduced since 2023.
“I am also conscious that millions of our fellow citizens cannot wait for tomorrow. Some Nigerian families still struggle today for the next meal, the next school fee, the next medical bill, or simply enough money to get to work,” he said.
He added: “Their circumstances did not begin with the reforms of the last three years. Their struggle is the accumulated consequence of decades of low productivity, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient opportunity and institutions that too often failed those who needed them most.”
The President said his administration could not undo in four years problems that had accumulated over several generations, but insisted that it could change the country’s direction.
“We cannot erase in four years what accumulated over generations. But we can change its course,” Tinubu said.
He said government would continue strengthening direct support for poor households while expanding programmes such as the National Social Register, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Consumer Credit Corporation.
According to him, such interventions are intended to cushion vulnerable Nigerians while the economy moves towards broader prosperity.
“These programmes are not substitutes for prosperity. They are a bridge to aid our nation’s citizens on their path towards it,” he said.
Tinubu further declared that the government’s ultimate objective was not merely to manage poverty but to eliminate it.
“Our objective is not to manage poverty more efficiently. We will defeat it,” he said.
Defending the economic direction of his administration, the President cited what he described as improvements in economic growth, inflation, foreign reserves, oil theft and foreign exchange stability.
He said Nigeria’s economy had grown by more than four per cent in 2026 and that the country recorded more than $6 billion in non-oil export revenue in 2025.
Tinubu said the difficult phase of economic adjustment had now given way to a new focus on improving Nigerians’ living standards.
“The age of reform has done its work. Now begins the age of prosperity,” he declared.
He said the next phase would focus on reducing the cost of living, creating productive jobs, supporting businesses, expanding agriculture and industrial production, and improving infrastructure.
The President also called on Nigerians to look beyond the difficulties of the reform period, insisting that the country had reached a turning point.
“Nigeria has corrected its course. We have passed through our own Red Sea. This is not the time to look back,” Tinubu said.
“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,” he added.
