I’ll defeat poverty… but it will take time – Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu says his administration will defeat poverty in Nigeria, but doing so will take time.

Speaking during his Independence Day broadcast on Thursday, the president said eradicating poverty would require collective discipline, sustained growth and the creation of millions of productive opportunities.

“Our objective is not to manage poverty more efficiently. We will defeat it. It will take time,” he said.

“It will require discipline. It will require sustained growth year after year and the creation of millions of productive opportunities across our country.”

In April, the World Bank estimated that 63 percent of Nigerians lived below the national poverty line in 2025.

The bank said poverty remains high, noting that its estimates for 2024 and beyond are projections based on data from the 2018/19 and 2022/23 National Living Standards Surveys.

Tinubu, however, said his administration had embarked on tackling poverty from a position of strength, having corrected the fundamental direction of the economy.

“We confronted the difficult choices we faced and have laid the foundations for lasting prosperity,” he said.

“Rather than fail the promise of a better future for our children, the time has come for us to build that future.”

The president said the reforms initiated by his administration had done their work and that the country has entered an era of prosperity.

“We have travelled through difficult years together. We have made hard decisions together. And now, still together, we must build the country that those decisions have made possible,” Tinubu said.

“I believe deeply in what lies ahead. I believe in the millions of ordinary men and women whose work, courage and determination have always been the true strength of our country.

“The road ahead will still demand much from us. But we now travel it with firm footing, a clear direction, and renewed hope in our collective future.

“Nigeria has corrected its course. We have passed through our own Red Sea. This is not the time to look back. Let us go forward together, with faith in ourselves, faith in our country, and faith that the sacrifices we have made will yield their reward.”

Tinubu said the ultimate goal is to build a country of abundance and opportunity, where prosperity is broadly shared and every child can aspire beyond the circumstances of their birth.

“The Promised Land before us is a Nigeria of abundance and opportunity; a nation where prosperity is broadly shared, where every child can dream beyond the circumstances of his birth, and where our country’s immense promise is finally reflected in the lives of our people,” he said. (TheCable)