Tinubu’s 66th Independent Day Speech And The Stark Reality Of The Nigerian Present Situation, by Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

The president’s speech to the nation is usually an address to the nation on specific occasions. It could be during an inauguration, special events like the democracy day, or in response to a crisis or emergency situation. A president’s speech gives the public a direct update on government policies, national goals, and the state of the nation. The key purposes are: to give policy direction by outlining broad strategic goals, economic plans and new policy framework. It gives national update and the state of affairs like security situation, the state of the economy and major milestones. Essentially, the presidential speech should communicate values, intentions and calls for national unity.

The president’s speech as a form of public communication should generate reactions and feedbacks; dominating public discourse. Be it inaugural speech, state of the nation’s address or a response to national crisis, it is what the people look forward to with great expectations because it points to the direction the nation is moving.

But not with Tinubu who will go down in the history of Nigeria as the president that made the worst speeches. His speeches are usually dry, empty and without clear direction. And so, many Nigerians feel his recent address to the nation lacks empathy and falls short of solving immediate hardships and poverty prevalent in the country. Instead of hope, the speech brought hopelessness. Tinubu’s 2027 Independent Day speech is hollow and full of contradictions and spurious and unverifiable claims. And this has drawn sharp criticisms from the key opposition political parties, concerned Nigerians and public affairs analysts across the nation who pointed unfulfilled promises, insecurity, high cost of living and the contradictions between macro-economic indicators and everyday reality as what the speech fails to address.

In truth, Tinubu’s independent day speech lacks the basic rhetorical foundation required in such address. First is that of lack of credibility and character that has made the Nigerian public doubt his integrity and sincerity. Today the average Nigerians, Tinubu has never shown his passion and zeal to serve and therefore cannot be trusted. Secondly, his speech is full of contradictions; lacking in sound logic, reliable data and factual evidence.

At this point, let us try to look at the highlights of the address. First, Tinubu said the initial phase of emergency economic reforms had been completed, with the administration now moving from foundational economic repairs to a focus on shared and widespread prosperity. He said the reforms were necessary to address the longstanding structural challenges in the economy and create the foundation for sustainable growth. On the economy, Tinubu claims that the economy grew by over 4% in 2026 and that the growth was driven by both oil and non-oil export that brought in over $6 billion in 2025, claiming that the foreign reserves have been beefed up, inflation declining while foreign exchange market has stabilized.

And what in what looked like acknowledgement of failure, Tinubu identified reducing the cost of living as a major priority of his administration. He said his government is working to reduce cost of production and transportation costs through expanded mechanized irrigation, dry-season farming and improved access to agricultural inputs. Tinubu also highlighted investments in roads, railways, ports and power infrastructure as part of efforts to bring down the cost of doing business and ease pressure on households.

Tinubu said his administration would leverage Nigeria’s large youthful population as an engine of production by making jobs, enterprise and industrial growth central to national policies. He said the government was focusing on gas-powered industries, the revival of factories, digital connectivity and skills development to expand opportunities for young Nigerians.

Tinubu also said the government was updating the National Social Register to improve the targeting of direct assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians. He also said the administration remained committed to the timely payment of salaries and pensions as part of measures to protect households and workers.

Tinubu highlighted the role of the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) in expanding access to consumer credit for working Nigerians. He said the initiative would enable beneficiaries to acquire assets such as vehicles, solar power systems and digital devices without having to save for several years before making such purchases. He further stated that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund was helping to ensure that children from low-income families could access higher education without financial barriers. He described NELFUND as an important part of the administration’s effort to expand educational opportunities and improve access to tertiary education.

Again, Tinubu cited the reduction in oil theft as a significant achievement of his administration. He commended the Armed Forces and other security agencies for their efforts in maintaining peace and protecting the country’s resources.

In a face-saving act, Tinubu defended the decision to remove fuel subsidies and implement what he termed structural economic reforms, describing the measures as difficult but necessary. Tinubu compared Nigeria’s previous approach to using “morphine” to mask deep-rooted economic problems rather than addressing their underlying causes. He maintained that the reforms were designed to tackle structural weaknesses and put the economy on a more sustainable footing.

The speech ended with the usual platitude of calling on the citizens to be patient, stressing that the sacrifices made during the reform period were intended to establish a lasting foundation for a stronger and more resilient economy. He urged citizens to remain united and committed to the task of building a more prosperous Nigeria.

Clearly, the speech showed that Tinubu government has nothing to showcase as achievement in the past three and a half years that it has been in power. Tinubu is celebrating abstract and illusory statistics that do reflect the true situation of the Nigerian economy. The figures quoted in his speech mean nothing in the face of galloping inflation, rising unemployment, suffocating rent, ever rising tariff costs, high cost of energy and transport. The decisions taken about floating the naira and subsidy removal were reckless and have not yielded any fruitful result. The speech praised the armed forces for forestalling resource theft and oil bunkering while it was silent on the insecurity in the country: banditry, insurgency, kidnapping, herdsmen attack…and measures to control them. It talks about food security but without measures to assist displaced farmers in the crisis regions in the North

It is unfortunate that after three and a half years out of a four-year tenure, Tinubu has nothing to offer other empty rhetoric about imaginary reforms and shared prosperity. One of the most annoying thing about Tinubu and his team is their penchant for blaming the previous administration for their failures. Tinubu’s speech and the reaction from Bayo Onanuga, his media aide to the criticisms were evidence of admittance of failure on the part of the administration. The speech was packaged like a propaganda story full of lies and half-truth and therefore deceitful and uninspiring. It shows insensitivity and lack of empathy for the plight of the people. Nigeria has never had it this bad.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com
An actress, social activist, politician
London, UK.