Independence is not a single moment in history. It is a covenant that each generation must renew with sacrifice. In 1960 our fathers and mothers lifted the green and white flag and claimed political freedom. Sixty-five years later we stand again at a turning point. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu now carries the burden of a second independence, one that must deliver economic sovereignty, social justice, and the dignity of safety and prosperity for every citizen.
Our story has never been easy. We have endured civil war, dictatorship, squandered wealth, and the quiet pain of dreams deferred. We have known inflation, poverty, and insecurity. Yet Nigeria has never surrendered. We bend but we do not break. We stumble but we do not fall apart. That resilience is the deepest proof that the idea of Nigeria is greater than its trials.
But resilience is not enough. A nation cannot survive on endurance alone. It must transform resilience into progress. This is why President Tinubu has chosen the difficult road of reform. Fuel subsidies that drained the treasury have been removed. We now export more than we import. Federation revenues have grown by over 400% since May 2023. A distorted exchange system that enriched a few at the expense of many is being dismantled. These choices are not easy. Rent seekers who once benefitted from the distortions in our economy are fighting back. The reforms stretch households, they test patience, they invite criticism. But they are the choices of a leader who understands that nations are not built on illusion but on truth.
President Bola Tinubu knows this because he has lived it. He was exiled for demanding democracy. He was persecuted because he refused silence in the face of dictatorship. The courage that once secured our political freedom is the same courage now driving his mission to secure our economic freedom. Leadership is not about avoiding pain. It is about facing it so that the next generation may inherit strength rather than weakness.
We must be honest about where we are. Insecurity still troubles our borders and our highways despite the serious gains of our security agencies and armed forces. Too many children remain out of school even though going to school is no longer a burden on families. Too many young people are still searching for jobs despite the opening up of the economy for productive enterprise. These are not statistics. They are lives. They are the reason the Renewed Hope Agenda puts security, education, and opportunity at its heart. A stronger currency and balanced finances matter only if they become schools that teach, hospitals that heal, jobs that restore dignity, and communities that are safe.
At sixty-five our duty has never been clearer as leaders or as citizens. We must secure our land. We must educate every child. We must create work for our young people and give them reason to hope at home. We must prove that the green and white flag is not only a relic of history but a promise of justice, unity, and greatness.
This anniversary is more than a celebration. It is a summons. It calls citizens to stand firm. It calls leaders to act with urgency and integrity. And it declares to the world that Nigeria is not a story of decline but a nation in the making.
Nigeria is not yet what it must be. But Nigeria is not finished. With the help of God, with the resilience of our people, and with the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we will complete the work of freedom.
And when history tells of this moment it will not speak of despair. It will speak of a people who chose courage over comfort, discipline over drift, and hope over fear. It will also speak of a President who carried the sacrifices of the past into the promise of the future. It will speak of a Nigeria that refused to fail. A Nigeria on the path to shared prosperity.
Nigeria will rise. Nigeria will endure. Nigeria will prevail. And Nigerians will rise with her.
~ O’tega Ogra is the most senior adviser to the Nigerian President, President Bola Tinubu, on Digital Communications, Engagement and Strategy. He heads the Office of Digital Engagement and Strategy in the Office of the President. He writes from the State House, Abuja.
