‘THE AGE OF REFORM HAS DONE ITS WORK’: TINUBU DECLARES NEW PROSPERITY PHASE FOR NIGERIA

TINUBU TO NIGERIANS: WE HAVE PASSED THROUGH OUR RED SEA, NOW LET US BUILD PROSPERITY

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared that Nigeria has moved beyond the emergency phase of his administration’s economic reforms and must now enter what he described as an “age of prosperity”, with lower living costs, productive jobs, industrial growth and wider economic opportunity at the centre of government policy.

Tinubu made the declaration in his Independence Day address to Nigerians on Thursday, October 1, 2026, marking the country’s 66th anniversary of independence.

The address, delivered under the theme “From Reforms to Prosperity”, was both a defence of the economic choices made by his administration since 2023 and an outline of what he said should constitute the next phase of Nigeria’s economic journey.

The President argued that successive administrations had postponed difficult economic decisions, allowing structural weaknesses to deepen, and compared Nigeria’s economic condition before his administration to a patient suffering from cancer who must choose between painful treatment and temporary relief.

According to Tinubu, Nigeria’s choice had long been to suppress the symptoms rather than confront the underlying problems.

“For too long, Nigeria’s leaders chose morphine while praying for a miracle that never came,” he said. He added:

“They focused on symptoms while allowing the disease to take hold deep within the fabric of our society. We spent enormous sums sustaining inefficient arrangements that were never intended to last. We hid from difficult truths and passed the consequences from one generation to the next.”

But the President said his administration chose a different path when it assumed office.

“When this Administration assumed office, we resolved to do things differently. We chose to excise the cancer,” Tinubu said.

“The reforms that followed were difficult. The side effects were real. Yet, we must never confuse the medicine with the disease.”

THE CASE FOR THE REFORMS

Tinubu’s central argument was that the economic difficulties Nigerians experienced during the reform period should be viewed against the structural problems his administration said it inherited.

He maintained that the reforms did not create those weaknesses but were intended to confront them. “Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. They confronted them,” he said.

The President also rejected calls to abandon the direction of the reforms and return to what he described as “the abuse of addictive subsidies”.

“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.

“We must remember why we began this journey and how far we have already come.”

Tinubu said the economic picture had changed three and a half years after his administration began its reform programme.

He claimed that Nigeria’s economy had grown by more than four per cent in 2026, with both the oil and non-oil sectors contributing to what he described as a renewed period of stable growth.

He also said oil theft had declined, inflation had fallen substantially from its peak, foreign reserves had been rebuilt and the foreign exchange market had stabilised.

The President further disclosed that Nigeria recorded its highest revenue from non-oil exports in 2025, exceeding $6 billion.

“This is real money being made by real Nigerian businesses,” he said.

Tinubu argued that these developments represented evidence of a changing economic environment. “These are not idle claims. International observers, journalists, NGOs and multilateral institutions can see the change,” he said.

“Each has concluded that our reforms have strengthened Nigeria’s economic stability and resilience.” He also said the private sector had responded positively to the reforms and that foreign direct investment continued to rise.

‘THE EMERGENCY TREATMENT IS OVER’

For Tinubu, the significance of the reported economic changes is that Nigeria’s policy challenge has now moved into another phase.

“My fellow Nigerians, we have reached a turning point,” he declared. “The emergency treatment is over. The foundation has been repaired. The central economic task before us has changed.”

He said that for the first three years of his administration, the overriding objective had been to correct Nigeria’s economic direction.

“Now, our purpose is simple: shared and widespread prosperity,” he said.

The President, however, stressed that prosperity should not be understood merely through headline economic statistics.

“When I speak of prosperity, I do not speak merely of a larger economy, abstract numbers or better statistics. I mean something much more personal,” Tinubu said.

He described the prosperity he wants to see in practical terms. “I mean a Nigeria in which the farmer can cultivate his land safely, produce more at lower cost, and earn a decent return for his labour,” he said.

“A Nigeria in which factories have reliable power, businesses can obtain credit, and young people can find productive work.”

He also envisioned a country “in which food and transportation are affordable, education is within reach, and hard-working families can look towards the future with confidence.”

“This is the promise we must now fulfil,” he said.

LOWERING THE COST OF LIVING

Tinubu placed the reduction of the cost of living at the centre of the next phase of his administration’s economic programme.

“Our priority is to bring down the cost of living,” he said.

But rather than presenting cheaper goods as the result of price controls alone, the President linked the objective to reducing the cost of production and transportation.

“We will achieve this by lowering the cost of producing and moving the things Nigerians consume,” he said.

He argued that Nigeria already possessed two fundamental resources required to produce more food, land and people, but needed greater investment in agricultural production and the infrastructure connecting farms to consumers.

“We have the land and people to feed ourselves,” Tinubu said.

He listed mechanised irrigation, dry-season farming, improved access to seeds and fertiliser, increased mechanisation, storage and transportation among the areas his government is focusing on.

He also said the government was building and completing roads, railways and ports intended to connect farms and factories to markets.

The President explained the economic logic behind the approach.

“When a farmer produces more cheaply, when fewer crops are lost between the farm and the market, when a manufacturer spends less on electricity, when a truck reaches its destination faster, and when the business environment fosters fair competition, all those savings will ultimately find their way into the price of goods in the market,” he said.

The argument represents a shift from viewing the cost-of-living crisis only as a question of household purchasing power to addressing the cost structure behind food, manufacturing, transportation and other essential goods.

JOBS, INDUSTRY AND NIGERIA’S YOUNG POPULATION

Tinubu said cheaper goods alone would not deliver the prosperity he envisages.

“But prosperity requires more than cheaper goods. It requires productive work,” he said.

The President described Nigeria as a young country, with millions of young people entering adulthood every year. He said the government’s responsibility was to ensure that Nigeria’s demographic strength became an engine of production rather than a source of despair.

“We are therefore placing jobs, enterprise, and industrial growth at the heart of our government’s policies,” Tinubu said.

He outlined a number of areas through which his administration intends to pursue that objective.

“We will use our gas to power new industries,” he said.

He also promised support for businesses working to revive factories in Nigeria’s industrial centres, expanded digital connectivity, investment in skills demanded by employers, and infrastructure and financing support for Nigerian businesses.

Tinubu then described the kind of economy he wants to see emerge. “I want to see more Nigerians making things,” he said.

“I want to see more Nigerian farms feeding our cities and supplying our factories. I want to see Nigerian businesses selling Nigerian goods to the whole world.”

He added: “I want young Nigerians building unicorns and creating opportunities for others here at home.”

‘MILLIONS CANNOT WAIT FOR TOMORROW’

Despite his defence of the reforms, the President acknowledged that millions of Nigerians remain under economic pressure.

“I am also conscious that millions of our fellow citizens cannot wait for tomorrow,” he said.

Tinubu specifically referred to families struggling to provide their next meal, pay school fees, meet medical expenses or afford transportation to work.

He argued that their hardship did not begin with the reforms introduced during his administration.

“Their circumstances did not begin with the reforms of the last three years,” he said.

“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 government could not eliminate within four years problems that had accumulated over generations.

“We cannot erase in four years what accumulated over generations,” he said.

“But we can change its course.”

He said the government’s objective was to build an economy capable of lifting people steadily out of poverty while ensuring that vulnerable citizens were not abandoned during the transition.

SOCIAL SUPPORT, EDUCATION AND CONSUMER CREDIT

Tinubu pointed to several existing and planned programmes as part of the bridge between economic reform and the broader prosperity he described.

He said his administration was strengthening direct support for the poorest households and improving the National Social Register to ensure that assistance reaches people who genuinely need it.

He also highlighted the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, saying it would help ensure that children from low-income families were not forced to abandon higher education because their parents could not afford fees.

The President further pointed to CREDICORP, which he said was giving working Nigerians access to consumer credit.

According to Tinubu, such credit would allow Nigerians to acquire vehicles, solar systems, digital devices and other essential assets without first having to save for years before making the purchases.

He also promised continued collaboration with state and local governments to strengthen primary healthcare, basic education and other essential public services on which poorer Nigerians depend.

Tinubu said his administration had paid salaries and pensions on time and in full since 2023 and had reformed the national pension programme to benefit retirees and vulnerable Nigerians.

But he stressed that such interventions were not intended to become a permanent substitute for economic opportunity.

“These programmes are not substitutes for prosperity. They are a bridge to aid our nation’s citizens on their path towards it,” he said.

“Our objective is not to manage poverty more efficiently.”

Then came one of the most emphatic lines of the address: “We will defeat it.”

‘IT WILL TAKE TIME’

Tinubu acknowledged that the transition to broad prosperity would not happen immediately. “It will take time,” he said.

“It will require discipline. It will require sustained growth year after year and the creation of millions of productive opportunities across our country.”

He nevertheless argued that Nigeria was entering this next phase from a stronger economic position than it occupied at the beginning of his administration.

“But for the first time in decades, we embark on this task from a position of strength; with an economy whose fundamental direction has been corrected,” he said.

The President said the government had confronted difficult choices and laid what he described as foundations for lasting prosperity.

“Rather than fail the promise of a better future for our children, the time has come for us to build that future,” he said.

FROM REFORM TO PROSPERITY

The central message of Tinubu’s Independence Day address was captured in a single declaration.

“The age of reform has done its work. Now begins the age of prosperity,” he said.

He described this new phase as one in which Nigeria’s promise should become the lived experience of citizens across social and economic backgrounds.

“An age in which the promise of this great nation must finally become the lived experience of Nigerians from all walks of life,” he said.

The President framed the transition as a collective national project rather than solely an economic programme of his administration.

“We have travelled through difficult years together. We have made hard decisions together. And now, still together, we must build the country those decisions have made possible,” he said.

He acknowledged that the road ahead would continue to demand sacrifices, but expressed confidence in what he described as Nigeria’s collective capacity.

“I believe deeply in what lies ahead,” Tinubu said.

“I believe in the millions of ordinary men and women whose work, courage and determination have always been the true strength of our country.”

‘WE HAVE PASSED THROUGH OUR OWN RED SEA’

The President then turned to a biblical image to describe what he sees as Nigeria’s movement through the difficult period of reform.

“Nigeria has corrected its course. We have passed through our own Red Sea,” Tinubu said. “This is not the time to look back.”

He urged Nigerians to move forward with confidence that the sacrifices made during the reform period would eventually produce the benefits promised by the government.

“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 said.

Tinubu described the destination ahead as a “Promised Land” defined by abundance and opportunity.

“The Promised Land before us is a Nigeria of abundance and opportunity; a nation where prosperity is broadly shared, where every child can dream beyond the circumstances of his birth, and where our country’s immense promise is finally reflected in the lives of our people,” he said.

He ended with a concise appeal that echoed the central theme of the address. “Our destination is in sight. Our foundations are strong. Our direction is clear. So let us go forward. No looking back.”

THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC MESSAGE

Beyond the Independence Day symbolism, Tinubu’s address amounted to a detailed attempt to define the next phase of his administration.

The speech presented his government’s economic reforms as necessary corrective measures, acknowledged the continuing hardship faced by millions of Nigerians, and then shifted the emphasis towards production, jobs, industrialisation, agriculture, infrastructure, social protection and access to finance.

The President’s argument was that Nigeria could not achieve lower prices sustainably without lowering the cost of producing and transporting goods.

He also linked prosperity to productive employment, arguing that Nigeria’s large young population must become an economic asset.

At the same time, he acknowledged that the economic hardship experienced by many Nigerians predates his administration and described it as the accumulated result of decades of low productivity, infrastructure deficits, inadequate opportunity and institutional weaknesses.

His proposed response was therefore not limited to welfare intervention. It included agricultural mechanisation, irrigation, storage, transport infrastructure, energy for industry, digital connectivity, skills development, credit, manufacturing and export expansion.

The speech also placed the government’s social programmes within that wider framework, describing direct assistance, education loans, consumer credit, healthcare, basic education and pension reforms as bridges towards prosperity rather than substitutes for it.

Tinubu’s declaration that “the age of reform has done its work” therefore marked the rhetorical centre of the address.

The President is now asking Nigerians to judge the next phase not simply by macroeconomic indicators, but by whether the promised changes translate into cheaper food and transportation, safer and more productive farming, reliable power for industry, access to credit, employment for young people and a wider distribution of economic opportunity.

ValidViewNetwork reports that President Tinubu’s Independence Day message was ultimately built around a transition he considers decisive: from correcting what his administration describes as deep economic distortions to delivering the tangible prosperity Nigerians have been waiting for.

Whether the reforms produce the broad improvements promised will ultimately depend on how these policy commitments translate into household incomes, prices, jobs, productive investment and access to essential services across the country.

For Nigerians, the central question of the new phase is therefore not only whether the economy is growing, but whether that growth becomes visible in everyday life.

Tinubu ended his address with a message of collective responsibility and optimism:

“Happy Independence Day, my fellow Nigerians. God bless you all, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”