President Bola Tinubu’s address to the joint session of the National Assembly to commemorate Nigeria’s Democracy Day on June 12, 2025, failed to inspire hope in the majority of the citizens. Essentially, the President highlighted his commitment to security and economic reforms, national unity, political inclusiveness and preserving democratic governance in Nigeria. But there is no evidence of concrete plans to achieve these lofty ideals.
Worthy of commendation, though, is the national honours he gave to the heroes of the June 12 struggle, including some late pro-democracy activists, journalists, civil rights activists and politicians who were imprisoned, exiled, tortured, beaten and or killed by the military regime. He also paid tribute to the symbol of June 12, Chief Moshood Abiola.
Though the President allayed the fears of a one-party state in Nigeria, the sad reality is that the country appears to be tilting towards that end. To worsen the situation, the Akwa Ibom governor, Umo Eno, threatened to sack any of his appointees who failed to defect with him from the Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The President even expressed his pleasure to witness the opposition parties in disarray.
Tinubu’s call for tolerance of criticism, dialogue over dictatorship, and persuasion over suppression flies in the face of the subtle suppression of the freedom of expression in Nigeria. In 2024, security agents arrested and detained a number of journalists for allegedly breaching the cybersecurity law. In August 2024, security agents similarly harassed and even killed some citizens protesting against hunger and bad governance in the country. Some of them, including minors, were later charged with treason. The charge was dropped after a public outcry.
On the economic front, the President noted that Nigeria recorded 3.4 per cent GDP growth in 2024, with Q4 at 4.6 per cent, the highest quarter of growth in over a decade. The medium-term growth target to grow the economy at 7 per cent with a strong manufacturing base and boosting of local food production is ambitious. Efforts should be made to make it more of a reality than mere rhetoric.
He also boasted of lowering food prices like rice and beans as well as stabilizing foreign exchange. These are yet to have any significant impact in the lives of the average Nigerian. Many citizens wish for a return to the pre-2023 era when the exchange rate was less than N500 to a dollar.
As commendable as the consumer credit, which over 100,000 Nigerians, including 35,000 civil servants reportedly benefitted from, the number of beneficiaries pales to insignificance when compared with the population of Nigeria.
The National Credit Guarantee Company, backed with N100 billion in initial capital, was launched to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and industrialization. Nevertheless, productivity is still at low ebb as many companies have closed down. According to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), about 767 companies shut down operations while 335 others experienced distress in 2023 alone. The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) said about 7.2 million Micro and Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) shut down between 2023 and 2024.
Investment in education, vocational training, internships and apprenticeships are meant to empower our youths. But more needs to be done to make the programmes more inclusive and impactful. The President’s efforts in infrastructure development cannot be ignored. Many roads and railways are being constructed. Ports and the power sector are reportedly receiving attention to support industry growth.
Nevertheless, companies and institutions currently pay heavily for erratic supply of energy. Savings from fuel and electricity subsidies are not well accounted for. Public borrowing has continued to the detriment of the future generation of Nigerians. The impacts of these borrowings are yet to be felt.
Poverty is endemic with millions of people being multi-dimensionally poor. Palliatives are shared occasionally to the vulnerable members of the society, but this is merely scratching the surface of the problem. The President spoke about the use of digital tools to track performance, reduce waste and improve accountability. So far, the waste in this government is unprecedented and accountability is low.
On security, he said coordinating intelligence and inter-agency cooperation as well as the use of technology had improved and that security operations had been intensified to reclaim communities from criminals and terrorists. Evidence shows that the terrorists have become more emboldened and sophisticated. The current killing spree in Benue State is a typical example. The major structural reform programme needed for a renewed nation is missing in the speech. Obviously, comprehensive reforms are needed in the education, health, judicial and political sectors. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is hardly independent. Currently, there are controversies over the appointment of some persons alleged to be card-carrying members of the APC as Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
President Tinubu should ensure that he puts machinery in motion to achieve sustainable national unity by building bridges across various ethnic groups and tackling historical injustices that have resulted in agitations for self-determination in some places. There is need for more practical steps to restore justice and hope in a beleaguered nation like Nigeria.