Tinubu: Nigeria Was ‘Like A Sick Patient’ When I Took Over

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has recalled that Nigeria was in state of hopelessness when he took over government in 2023, saying the country, was at the time ”like a sick patient who receives terrible news that he has cancer.”

The president said there were two choices before him when he became president; to immediately tackle the problem, which can lead to discomfort for many Nigerians, or gloss over it and allow it to continue, like his predecessors  in government who he accused of failing to take the bullby the horns.

‘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,” he said.

Tinubu made the remark on Thursday in his nationwide broadcast to Nigerians in commemoration of the nation’s 66th independence day celebration.

Nigeria gained independence from the British Colonial government on October 1, 1960, and successive adminstrations have ruled the country since then, trying to find solutions to the nation’s many problems.

According to the president, past leaders in the country, from the time of independnce refused to deal with the nation’s many challenges, waiting ”for the miracle that never came” saying their wrong choices made the country to go from bad to worse instead of getting better, by refusing to tell Nigerians the ”truth” he said, they allowed the problems to fester from one generation to to another.

He said he chose to do things differently when he assumed office over three years ago by implementing reforms which he said were necessary to deal with the ”disease” affecting the country.

Part oft he reforms he implemented, according to him,is the fuel subsidy removal, which has been strongly condemned by his critics who are demanding the policy to be reverse. He,however,stated that three years down the line the economicoutlook in the country has proven that he made the right decision by dealing with the problemhead on.

Tinubu: ”’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. Now, as certain influential but regressive voices would have us abandon the treatment and return ourselves to the abuse of addictive subsidies, we must resist their siren song. We must remember why we began this journey and how far we have already come.

”Three and a half years later, the evidence that Nigeria’s economic outlook has improved is undeniable. Our economy has grown by over 4 per cent this year. Both oil and non-oil sectors have contributed to the renewed period of stable growth,” the president noted.