President Bola Tinubu has likened Nigeria’s economic situation in 2023 to that of a cancer patient undergoing painful but potentially life-saving treatment, saying his administration’s reforms did not create the country’s economic weaknesses.
Tinubu spoke in his Independence Day address on Thursday, where he defended the economic policies introduced by his administration and said they were necessary to reverse years of structural decline.
The president said the country faced worsening poverty and declining hope in 2023, leaving his administration with no choice but to take difficult decisions.
“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.
He compared Nigeria’s situation to a cancer patient who must choose between enduring difficult treatment or relying on pain relief while the disease continues to spread.
“Nigeria was like a sick patient who receives the terrible news that he has cancer. His doctor explains that the treatment will be difficult and painful, but that it offers a strong prospect of recovery. The patient has a choice. He can begin treatment, endure its discomfort and fight the disease. Or he can ask only for morphine, dull the pain and leave the cancer to spread.”
Tinubu said previous administrations had avoided difficult decisions and allowed underlying problems to persist.
“For too long, Nigeria’s leaders chose morphine while praying for a miracle that never came. 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.”
The president said his administration instead chose to confront the underlying problems through reforms, despite the hardship associated with them.
“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.
“Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. They confronted them.”
Tinubu said Nigeria had now reached a “turning point”, with his administration shifting its focus from correcting economic imbalances to delivering broad-based prosperity.
“The emergency treatment is over. The foundation has been repaired. The central economic task before us has changed. For three years, our overriding purpose was to correct our nation’s course,” he said
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