Nigeria at 60: Five takeaways from Buhari's Independence Day speech

As Nigeria celebrates 60th year Independence Anniversary, President Muhammadu Buhari addressed Nigerians in a nationwide broadcast in the early hours of Thursday, October 1.

In this piece, Legit.ng highlights some key points from the president's speech.

1. The need for unity and national healing

President Buhari in the speech traced the history of Nigeria's journey as a sovereign nation and highlighted some of the challenges so far encountered.

He noted how the civil war cut-short the country's journey towards development and the need to be united to "chart where we need to go".

The president said:

"My summary of our journey so far as a nation is necessary to appropriately chart where we need to go and how to get there TOGETHER."The president added that Nigeria needs to begin a sincere process of national healing, adding that the 60thb Independence anniversary presents a genuine opportunity to eliminate old and outworn perceptions.

2. Lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years

Nigeria is currently ranked as the poverty capital of the world. Thus, it is not surprising that the president reiterated in the Independence speech his administration's plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years

3. Free and fair election

President Buhari also highlighted the need to ensure the country's electoral processes are transparent, free, fair and credible.

4. Covid-19 and the impacts on the economy

The president also stated that the coronavirus pandemic has affected the country's economy in addition to the public health challenges.

He said Nigeria has suffered a significant drop in its foreign exchange earnings and internal revenues due to 40 per cent drop in oil prices and steep drop in economic activities, which in turn leads to a 60 per cent drop in government revenue.

The president highlighted the social intervention schemes his administration has also put in place to alleviate poverty in the country.

5. Petroleum price and the need to take tough decisions

The Nigerian government recently stopped paying fuel subsidies and this led to increase in the price of petrol.

In the Independence speech, President Buhari justified the administration's stance regarding the petrol price.

He cited examples of other oil-producing countries that are selling petrol at higher prices when compared to Nigeria's.