Tinubu Says Nigeria Has Crossed Its Red Sea
Abuja · Thursday 1 October 2026
President Bola Tinubu used his Independence Day broadcast to declare that the hardest part of his reforms is over. "Nigeria has corrected its course," he said. "We have passed through our own Red Sea." He told Nigerians that bringing down the cost of living, by making food and goods cheaper to produce and move, is now his government's priority.
The cancer patient
The speech's central image was medical. Nigeria in 2023, he said, "was like a sick patient who receives the terrible news that he has cancer", and needed real treatment rather than painkillers. That treatment, in his telling, was the subsidy removal and the exchange-rate reform, and the patient is now recovering.
| Figures the President cited | |
|---|---|
| Economic growth this year | Over 4 per cent |
| Non-oil exports in 2025 | More than $6 billion, the highest on record |
| Inflation, reserves, exchange rate | Described as falling, rebuilt and stable |
Growth and exports are measurable. Whether households feel them is the real test.
A patient told the treatment is over still wants to know when he will feel better.
The shift that matters
For three years the government's message was that pain was necessary. Today the message changed to relief: cost of living first. That is the right priority, and it is also the one that voters can test for themselves at the market before the election. The President closed with three words, "No looking back." Nigerians will be looking at prices.
Reporting: Legit.ng, Vanguard, Tribune Online and Business Hallmark.
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