Tinubu hails Nigeria’s progress in healthcare, tech, defence, and more, calling it a national success story of resilience on Independence Day
Tinubu hails Nigeria’s progress since independence, declaring that the country has recorded substantial growth across healthcare, technology, infrastructure, and defence.
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Delivering his 65th Independence Day broadcast on Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu highlighted Nigeria’s development over the past six decades, crediting the nation’s resilience for its enduring journey through challenges and reform.
“We have experienced a significant surge in growth across every sector of our national life,” Tinubu stated.
He cited improvements in education, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, aviation, information technology, and defence.
At independence in 1960, Nigeria had just two tertiary institutions — the University of Ibadan and Yaba College of Technology.
Today, the country boasts 274 universities, 183 polytechnics, and 236 colleges of education, a transformation Tinubu described as remarkable.
Although he acknowledged the nation’s “profound social, economic, and political challenges,” Tinubu emphasised that Nigerians now enjoy better access to education and healthcare than at any other time in the nation’s history.
“For decades, the promise of our Independence has been tested, and we have survived. We may not have achieved every lofty dream of our forebearers, but we have not strayed too far from them,” he said.
The President’s address comes amid widespread public debate over his economic policies, especially the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of foreign exchange rates.
These reforms, while aimed at long-term stability, have brought inflationary pressures and economic hardship in the short term.
Nonetheless, Tinubu hails Nigeria’s progress as a broader national success story. He framed the country’s endurance through civil war, military regimes and democratic transitions as evidence of a nation determined to grow, even in adversity.
This year’s Independence celebrations were notably modest, with the Federal Government cancelling the traditional military parade in Abuja due to cost-saving measures.
Despite the challenges, Tinubu closed his speech with a message of optimism and collective responsibility.
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“While it is easy to dwell on what should have been, we must also celebrate what has been achieved,” he said.
