President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said Nigeria has corrected its economic course after three years of difficult reforms, declaring that the country has now entered what he described as the “age of prosperity.”

Tinubu made the declaration in his Independence Day address to Nigerians, as the country marks 66 years of independence, saying the nation had travelled through difficult years but remained sustained by the resilience, courage and determination of its people.

Sixty-six years ago today, Tinubu said, Nigeria’s flag was raised for the first time over a free and sovereign nation, beginning a journey as one nation bound by collective trust in the promise that a country of its size, resources, cultural diversity and extraordinary people could build a giant in Africa.

The President said Nigeria’s founding promise was to build, in its blessed and fertile land, a united, strong and prosperous nation capable of exercising regional authority and having global consequence.

He acknowledged that the journey had not always been easy, saying it had generally been too hard for too many Nigerians.

According to him, the country had experienced moments of great hope as well as periods of profound disappointment, while enduring war, military rule, economic crises, insecurity and political upheaval.

Yet, he said, Nigeria had endured through the “indomitable spirit” of its people.

He cited the farmer who rises before dawn to work his land, the trader who opens her shop each morning hoping 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.

Tinubu also expressed gratitude to the men and women of the Armed Forces and security services who place themselves in harm’s way so that other Nigerians can live in peace.

“Through every difficulty, generations of Nigerians have continued to believe in one thing: that this country of ours will be better,” he said.

The President said the faith that has sustained Nigerians is part of the inheritance of independence, stressing that the nation’s founding fathers did not struggle merely for a flag, an anthem or a place among the nations of the world.

He said independence carried a larger promise — that Nigerians would have the freedom to shape their own destiny and build a nation capable of providing opportunity, dignity and a better life for its people.

“Sixty-six years later, Almighty God has made it our responsibility to deliver that promise,” Tinubu said.

As the country celebrates its independence, the President said Nigerians must speak honestly about the journey so far, the choices made and the country they are determined to build from this point.

He said that for too long, Nigeria’s promise had been undermined by choices that postponed difficult decisions and allowed deep economic distortions to grow.

“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.

Tinubu likened Nigeria’s economic situation to that of a sick patient who receives the terrible news that he has cancer, with a doctor explaining that treatment would be difficult and painful but offered a strong prospect of recovery.

He said such a patient could choose to begin treatment, endure its discomfort and fight the disease, or ask only for morphine to dull the pain while allowing the cancer to spread.

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

According to him, previous administrations focused on symptoms while allowing the disease to take deep root in the fabric of society.

He said enormous sums were spent sustaining inefficient arrangements that were never intended to last, while difficult truths were avoided and their consequences passed from one generation to another.

Tinubu said that when his administration assumed office, it resolved to do things differently by choosing to “excise the cancer.”

He acknowledged that the reforms that followed were difficult and that their side effects were real, but cautioned Nigerians against confusing the medicine with the disease.

“Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. They confronted them,” he said.

The President said that as some influential but regressive voices call for the abandonment of the treatment and a return to what he described as the abuse of addictive subsidies, Nigerians must resist what he called their “siren song.”

He urged Nigerians to remember why the reform journey began and how far the country had already travelled.

Three and a half years later, Tinubu said, evidence that Nigeria’s economic outlook has improved is undeniable.

He said the economy had grown by more than four per cent in the year, with both the oil and non-oil sectors contributing to a renewed period of stable growth.

According to him, oil theft is down, inflation has fallen substantially from its peak, foreign reserves have been rebuilt and the foreign exchange market has stabilised.

He also said Nigeria recorded its highest revenue from non-oil exports in its history in 2025, exceeding $6 billion.

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

Tinubu said the changes were not idle claims, arguing that international observers, journalists, non-governmental organisations and multilateral institutions had seen the change and concluded that the reforms strengthened Nigeria’s economic stability and resilience.

He added that the private sector had “long since delivered its verdict” and that foreign direct investment continued to rise each year.

“My fellow Nigerians, we have reached a turning point,” the President declared.

He said the emergency treatment was over, the foundation had been repaired and the central economic task before the country had changed.

“For three years, our overriding purpose was to correct our nation’s course. Now, our purpose is simple: shared and widespread prosperity,” he said.

Tinubu explained that prosperity did not merely mean a larger economy, abstract numbers or better statistics, but something much more personal.

He said it meant a Nigeria where farmers could cultivate their land safely, produce more at lower cost and earn a decent return for their labour.

It also meant a country where factories have reliable power, businesses can obtain credit and young people can find productive work, while food and transportation remain affordable, education is within reach and hardworking families can look to the future with confidence.

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

Tinubu said the government’s priority was to bring down the cost of living by lowering the cost of producing and moving the things Nigerians consume.

He said Nigeria had the land and people needed to feed itself, adding that his government was therefore focused on expanding mechanised irrigation and dry-season farming, improving access to seeds and fertiliser, holistically increasing mechanisation and investing in storage and transportation.

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

“Our logic is simple,” Tinubu said.

“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.”

The President, however, said prosperity required more than cheaper goods, stressing that it also required productive work.

He described Nigeria as a young country, with millions of young Nigerians entering adulthood every year with talent, energy and ambition.

According to him, the government’s responsibility is to ensure that the country’s demographic strength becomes 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,” he said.

Tinubu said the government would use Nigeria’s gas to power new industries, support businesses working to revive factories in the country’s industrial centres, expand digital connectivity into communities that had waited too long to participate in the modern economy, invest in skills demanded by employers and support Nigerian businesses with the infrastructure and finance required to grow.

“I want to see more Nigerians making things. 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. I want young Nigerians building unicorns and creating opportunities for others here at home,” he said.

The President also acknowledged that millions of Nigerians could not wait for tomorrow, noting that some families still struggled for their next meal, school fees, medical bills or simply enough money to get to work.

He said their circumstances did not begin with the reforms of the last three years, but were the accumulated consequences of decades of low productivity, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient opportunities and institutions that too often failed those who needed them most.

“We cannot erase in four years what accumulated over generations. But we can change its course,” he said.

Tinubu said the government could build an economy that steadily lifts people out of poverty while ensuring that those who remain vulnerable are not abandoned along the way.

He said this was why the government was strengthening direct support for the poorest households and improving the National Social Register so that assistance reaches those who genuinely need it.

He also said it was why the Nigerian Education Loan Fund was ensuring that children from low-income families would not have to surrender the dream of higher education simply because their parents could not afford the fees.

Similarly, Tinubu said CREDICORP was giving working Nigerians access to consumer credit, allowing them to acquire vehicles, solar systems, digital devices and other essential assets without first having to accumulate years of savings.

He added that, working with states and local governments, the Federal Government would continue to strengthen primary healthcare, basic education and essential public services on which poorer Nigerians depend most.

“Since 2023, we have paid salaries and pensions on time and in full. We have reformed the national pension program to benefit retirees and the vulnerable,” he said.

Tinubu stressed that the programmes were not substitutes for prosperity but a bridge to assist citizens on their path towards it.

“Our objective is not to manage poverty more efficiently. We will defeat it,” he declared.

He acknowledged that achieving the goal would take time and require discipline, sustained growth year after year and the creation of millions of productive opportunities across the country.

“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.

Tinubu said his administration had confronted difficult choices and laid the foundations for lasting prosperity, adding that rather than fail the promise of a better future for Nigerian children, the time had come to build that future.

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

He described the new phase as an age in which the promise of Nigeria must finally become the lived experience of Nigerians from all walks of life.

“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.

Tinubu said he believed deeply in what lies ahead, particularly in the millions of ordinary men and women whose work, courage and determination had always been the true strength of the country.

He acknowledged that the road ahead would still demand much from Nigerians but said the country now travelled it with firm footing, a clear direction and renewed hope in its collective future.

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

He urged Nigerians to go forward together with faith in themselves, faith in their country and faith that the sacrifices made would yield their reward.

“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,” Tinubu said.

“Our destination is in sight. Our foundations are strong. Our direction is clear. So let us go forward. No looking back.

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