Tinubu delivers his first Independence Day speech as president, begs Nigerians to endure hardships for better future
President Bola Tinubu has delivered his first Independence Day speech as president and explained why it was necessary for Nigerians to endure the hardship his policies had put on citizens.
The president delivered the 63rd Independence anniversary speech on Sunday, October 1, 2023, in a live broadcast.
In his inaugural Independence Day message, the president said he was aware of the hardship Nigerians were going through but assured that his government was doing everything possible to ameliorate the pains they were facing.
He also noted that all the promises he had made so far were being carried through and in the end, Nigerians would have cause to smile.
He added that though “reform may be painful, but it is what greatness and the future require.”
Part of the speech reads: “At my inauguration, I made important promises about how I would govern this great nation. Among those promises were pledges to reshape and modernize our economy and to secure the lives, liberty and property of the people.
“I said that bold reforms were necessary to place our nation on the path of prosperity and growth. On that occasion, I announced the end of the fuel subsidy.
“I am attuned to the hardships that have come. I have a heart that feels and eyes that see. I wish to explain to you why we must endure this trying moment.
“Those who sought to perpetuate the fuel subsidy and broken foreign exchange policies are people who would build their family mansion in the middle of a swamp.
“I am different. I am not a man to erect our national home on a foundation of mud. To endure, our home must be constructed on safe and pleasant ground.
“Reform may be painful, but it is what greatness and the future require. We now carry the costs of reaching a future Nigeria where the abundance and fruits of the nation are fairly shared among all, not hoarded by a select and greedy few. A Nigeria where hunger, poverty and hardship are pushed into the shadows of an ever fading past.
“There is no joy in seeing the people of this nation shoulder burdens that should have been shed years ago. I wish today’s difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future.”
