Tinubu Unveils Prosperity Agenda

By Molayo Anjorin

President Bola Tinubu has declared that Nigeria is moving into a new phase of his administration’s economic programme, saying the period of difficult reforms has laid the groundwork for an era focused on prosperity, jobs and improved living standards.

In his speech on the occasion of Independence Day on October 1st, themed “From Reforms to Prosperity,” Tinubu said after three years of addressing the country’s long-standing economic distortions, the time has come for the government to focus on enhancing the welfare of the citizens.

“The age of reform has done its work. Now begins the age of prosperity,” he affirmed.

According to him, Our priority is to bring down the cost of living. We will achieve this by lowering the cost of producing and moving the things Nigerians consume.

The President said his administration will expand mechanised irrigation and dry-season farming, improve access to seeds and fertiliser, and invest in storage and transportation.

He promised to construct and  complete the roads, railways and ports that connect farms and factories to markets.

His words: Our logic is simple. When a farmer produces more cheaply, when fewer crops are lost between the farm and the market, when a manufacturer spends less on electricity, when a truck reaches its destination faster, and when the business environment fosters fair competition, all those savings will ultimately find their way into the price of goods in the market.”

Tinubu however emphasized that prosperity requires productive work which will provide jobs, enhance enterprise, and drive industrial growth.

“We will use our gas to power new industries. We will support businesses that work to bring factories back to life in our great industrial centres. We will expand digital connectivity into communities that have waited too long to participate in the modern economy.” He explained.

Tinubu however defended the reforms, which he said had created challenges but were necessary to deal with problems which had been allowed to fester for decades.

“Just as cancer patients are treated by addressing the causes and not merely the symptoms, the President said, successive governments have addressed the symptoms of Nigeria’s economic malaise.” The President stated

He highlighted decline in inflation, restored foreign reserves, a stabilized foreign exchange market and the increased non-oil exports as evidence of the success of the reforms. o said oil theft had reduced.

Tinubu however acknowledged that economic indicators alone would not define the success of the next phase.
“The true measure of our prosperity should not be seen in economic statistics but what people experience in their lives,” he said.

The President said Nigeria had “passed through our own Red Sea” and urged citizens to look ahead to what he described as the country’s “Promised Land.”