President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday called on Nigerians to recognise and celebrate the country’s progress since independence in 1960, even as he acknowledged the difficulties confronting the nation.

In a nationwide broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, the Nigerian leader said the country had made remarkable strides in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and other critical sectors.

“In 65 years since our Independence, we have made tremendous progress in economic growth, social cohesion, and physical development. Our economy has experienced significant growth since 1960,” the president said.

Mr Tinubu highlighted Nigeria’s growth in education, noting that while the country had only 120 secondary schools with about 130,000 students in 1960, there are now more than 23,000 secondary schools.

“At Independence, we had only the University of Ibadan and Yaba College of Technology as the two tertiary institutions in Nigeria. By the end of last year, there were 274 universities, 183 Polytechnics, and 236 Colleges of Education in Nigeria, comprising Federal, State, and private institutions.”

Mr Tinubu said similar progress had been recorded in other sectors, including healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, aviation, and defence.

He, however, recalled that Nigeria’s 65-year journey has been marked by turbulence, including a civil war, years of military dictatorship, and political crises.

“In all these, we weathered every storm and overcame every challenge with courage, grit, and uncommon determination,” he said.

The president, delivering his third independence address since assuming office in May 2023, said his administration inherited “a near-collapsed economy” distorted by years of policy misalignment.

He defended the government’s decision to end fuel subsidies and unify the foreign exchange rates, describing the measures as tough but necessary reforms. “We chose the path of tomorrow over the comfort of today. Less than three years later, the seeds of those difficult but necessary decisions are bearing fruit,” Mr Tinubu said.

According to him, funds previously wasted on subsidies are now being redirected to education, healthcare, national security, agriculture, and infrastructure, including roads, power, broadband, and social investments.

He urged Nigerians to support his administration’s reforms, saying they are crucial to addressing the nation’s infrastructure deficit.

“We are racing against time,” he said. “We must build the roads we need, repair the ones that have become decrepit, and construct the schools our children will attend and the hospitals that will care for our people.