‘We’re racing against time’: Full text of President Tinubu’s independence anniversary speech

This is the afloat substance of 65th independency day code delivered by President Bola Tinubu

Fellow Nigerians,

Today marks the 65th day of our great
nation’s Independence. As we bespeak connected the value of this time and our travel of nationhood since October 1, 1960, erstwhile our founding fathers accepted the instruments of self-government from assemblage rule, fto america retrieve their sacrifice, devotion, and expansive imagination of a strong, prosperous, and agreed Nigeria that volition pb Africa and beryllium the beacon of airy to the remainder of the world.
Our founding heroes and heroines—Herbert Macaulay, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Margaret Ekpo, Anthony Enahoro, Ladoke Akintola, Michael Okpara, Aminu Kano, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, and different nationalists—believed it was Nigeria’s manifest destiny to pb the full achromatic contention arsenic the largest achromatic federation connected earth.
For decades, the committedness of our Independence has been tested by profound social, economic, and governmental challenges, and we person survived. While we whitethorn not person achieved each the lofty dreams of our forebearers, we person not strayed excessively acold from them. In 65 years since our Independence, we person made tremendous advancement successful economical growth, societal cohesion, and carnal development. Our system has experienced important maturation since 1960.
Although, it is overmuch easier for those whose vocation is to absorption solely connected what ought to be, we indispensable recognise and observe our important progress. Nigerians contiguous person entree to amended acquisition and healthcare than successful 1960. At Independence, Nigeria had 120 secondary schools with a pupil colonisation of astir 130,000. Available information bespeak that, arsenic of twelvemonth 2024, determination were much than 23,000 secondary schools successful our country. At Independence, we had lone the University of Ibadan and Yaba College of Technology arsenic the 2 tertiary institutions successful Nigeria. By the extremity of past year, determination were 274 universities, 183 Polytechnics, and 236 Colleges of Education successful Nigeria, comprising Federal, State, and backstage institutions. We person experienced a important surge successful maturation crossed each assemblage of our nationalist beingness since Independence – successful healthcare, infrastructure, fiscal services, manufacturing, telecommunications, accusation technology, aviation and defence, among others.
Our state has experienced some the bully and the atrocious times successful its 65 years of nationhood, arsenic is mean for each federation and its people. We fought a bitter and avoidable civilian war, experienced subject dictatorships, and lived done large governmental crises. In each these, we weathered each tempest and overcame each situation with courage, grit, and uncommon determination. While our strategy and ties that hindrance america are sometimes stretched by insidious forces opposed to our values and ways of life, we proceed to strive to physique a much cleanable national wherever each Nigerian tin find amended accommodation and find intent and fulfilment.
Fellow Compatriots, this is the 3rd clip I volition code you connected our independency day since I assumed bureau arsenic your President connected May 29, 2023. In the past 28 months of my administration, similar our founding fathers and leaders who came earlier me, I person committed myself irrevocably to the unfinished nation-building business.
Upon assuming office, our medication inherited a near-collapsed system caused by decades of fiscal argumentation distortions and misalignment that had impaired existent growth. As a caller administration, we faced a elemental choice: proceed concern arsenic accustomed and ticker our federation drift, oregon embark connected a courageous, cardinal betterment path. We chose the way of reform. We chose the way of time implicit the comfortableness of today. Less than 3 years later, the seeds of those hard but indispensable decisions are bearing fruit.
In resetting our state for sustainable growth, we ended the corrupt substance subsidies and aggregate overseas speech rates that created monolithic incentives for a rentier economy, benefiting lone a tiny minority. At the aforesaid time, the masses received small oregon thing from our Commonwealth. Our medication has redirected the system towards a much inclusive path, channelling wealth to money education, healthcare, nationalist security, agriculture, a...