SPECIAL Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga has accused some politicians who criticised the president’s Independence Day address of preparing their responses before the speech was delivered.
Onanuga made the accusation on Friday while reacting to the backlash that followed Tinubu’s October 1 broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
The presidential aide said some of the president’s critics appeared to have settled on their positions before listening to the address and consequently failed to engage with what he described as a central point in Tinubu’s economic argument.
According to Onanuga, the critics overlooked what he called an ‘immutable truth’ contained in the president’s speech.
He quoted Tinubu as saying: “Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. They confronted them.”
The statement was part of Tinubu’s broader defence of the economic policies implemented since he assumed office in May 2023.
Onanuga defends reform programme
In his Independence Day address, Tinubu argued that Nigeria’s economic problems predated his administration and that the government had chosen to tackle what he described as deep-rooted structural weaknesses rather than continue policies that, in his assessment, merely postponed difficult decisions.
The president used the analogy of a patient suffering from a serious illness to explain his approach.
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He argued that Nigeria had for years treated the symptoms of its economic problems without addressing their underlying causes, likening such measures to administering pain relief while allowing the disease to worsen.
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Tinubu said his administration therefore opted for difficult reforms, acknowledging that the measures had produced what he described as real and painful side effects. He nevertheless maintained that the difficulties associated with the reforms should not be confused with the problems they were intended to resolve.
“Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. They confronted them,” the president said.
It was this position that Onanuga said some of the critics failed to properly address in their reactions.
Tinubu rejects return to subsidy regime
Tinubu also used the national broadcast to push back against calls for the government to reverse its economic reforms. The president warned against what he described as appeals to abandon the changes and return to the previous subsidy system.
He described such calls as a ‘siren song; and referred to subsidies as ‘addictive,’ arguing that Nigeria should not return to arrangements that, in his view, contributed to the economic distortions his administration inherited.
Tinubu said the government had already travelled too far along the reform path to reverse course. He argued that the country was now moving from what he described as a period of economic correction towards a phase focused on broad-based prosperity.
“The emergency treatment is over. The foundation has been repaired,” the president said.
He said the next phase of his administration would focus less on correcting macroeconomic imbalances and more on ensuring that Nigerians feel the benefits of economic growth in their daily lives.
President cites more than 4% growth
Tinubu also highlighted economic growth as part of his case for the continuation of the reforms.
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According to the president, Nigeria’s economy grew by more than 4 pecent in 2026, with both the oil and non-oil sectors contributing to what he described as a period of renewed and stable growth.
“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,” Tinubu said.
The president also pointed to lower oil theft, a decline in inflation from its peak, rebuilt foreign reserves and greater stability in the foreign exchange market as indicators of improvement.
He further said Nigeria generated more than $6 billion from non-oil exports in 2025, describing it as the highest revenue from the sector in the country’s history.
From reform to prosperity
The central theme of Tinubu’s Independence Day address was a claimed transition from economic reform to prosperity.
The president said the government had spent the first 3 years of its tenure attempting to correct the country’s economic direction and would now concentrate on translating that adjustment into improved living standards.
He identified lowering the cost of living as one of the administration’s major priorities.
According to Tinubu, the government plans to achieve this by reducing the cost of producing and transporting goods, expanding agricultural production, improving infrastructure and creating a more supportive environment for businesses.
He specifically mentioned mechanised farming, irrigation, improved access to seeds and fertiliser, storage facilities and transportation infrastructure.
The president also said the government was working to improve roads, railways and ports to make it easier for farmers and manufacturers to move goods to markets.
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Tinubu argued that lower production and transportation costs would eventually translate into cheaper goods for consumers.
Jobs, manufacturing and youth
The president also placed job creation and industrial expansion at the centre of what he described as the next stage of his economic agenda.
He said Nigeria’s youthful population could become an economic advantage if the country created sufficient productive opportunities for young people.
Tinubu said his administration would expand digital connectivity, develop skills required by employers, provide financing for businesses and use the country’s gas resources to support industrial production.
He also expressed support for the revival of manufacturing and the expansion of Nigerian businesses into international markets.
The president said he wanted to see more Nigerian-made products consumed locally and exported abroad, while encouraging young Nigerians to build technology companies and other businesses within the country.
Government says vulnerable Nigerians will receive support
Tinubu acknowledged that millions of Nigerians were still struggling with food, school fees, healthcare costs and transportation expenses.
He argued that these difficulties were not solely products of the reforms introduced by his administration but reflected problems that had accumulated over several decades.
The president said the government was therefore strengthening social intervention programmes to support vulnerable households while pursuing longer-term economic growth.
He cited the National Social Register, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and CREDICORP among initiatives intended to provide support to low-income households, students and working Nigerians.
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Tinubu said the objective was not simply to manage poverty but to create the economic conditions needed to reduce it over time.
Onanuga’s response adds to political debate
Onanuga’s comments have added to the political debate over how the economic situation should be assessed and whether the government’s reforms have produced sufficient benefits for Nigerians.
The presidency’s position is that the reforms addressed structural weaknesses that existed before Tinubu took office and that the resulting economic adjustments are beginning to produce greater stability.
Critics of the administration, however, have continued to question the impact of those policies on households, businesses and the cost of living.
For the presidency, the key argument is that the reforms should be judged as part of a longer-term restructuring of the Nigerian economy rather than solely by the immediate hardship associated with their implementation. But Nigerians want to see the reforms reduce poverty and high cost of living, while ensuring prosperity.
Tinubu, meanwhile, used his Independence Day address to argue that Nigeria had moved beyond the initial phase of economic correction and should now focus on converting the changes into jobs, lower production costs, increased investment and wider prosperity.
