President warns against unsustainable debt servicing, pledges electricity revival, and world-class pay for legal professionals
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared that Nigeria’s economic future depends on bold reforms, poverty eradication, and justice system overhaul, stressing that no nation can achieve prosperity while devoting 90 percent of its scarce revenues to servicing external debts.
The President, who spoke on Sunday while declaring open the 2025 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at the Velodrome of the Chief MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, told a gathering of over 16,190 lawyers that his administration will not sustain failed economic models that have crippled growth and perpetuated poverty.
“Can we continue to service external debts with 90 percent of our revenue? It is a path to destruction. It is not sustainable,” Tinubu said in an extemporaneous address that electrified the audience. “We must make the very difficult changes that are necessary for our country to get up from slumber and be respected among the great nations of the world.”
Speaking on the theme of the conference, “Getting it Right: Charting the Course for Nigeria’s Nation-Building,” the President insisted that his administration will stay the course on economic reforms despite initial hardships.
“We cannot have the country we desire without the reforms we have initiated. It is painful at the beginning, in the short and medium term, but we must do what we have to do to take this nation to its great destiny. It is not about you and it is not about me. It is about our generations yet unborn,” he affirmed.
Tinubu recalled his well-known judicial reforms as Lagos State Governor, pledging to extend similar bold measures nationwide, beginning with remuneration for judicial officers and lawyers. He argued that justice reform must start with world-class pay and benefits for legal professionals to sanitize the judiciary and strengthen the rule of law.
In his passionate address, Tinubu urged Nigerians to adopt a forward-looking mindset rather than dwell on past leadership failures.
“You are learned. I want to learn. Why are we so blessed and we are still lacking? We accuse our nation and its previous leaders. We complain a lot about the past. Is that the solution? No! Let us look forward and be determined! God has given us what we need. We must work hard with determination to make our country great and it begins with you who are seated here with me,” he told the legal practitioners.
Tinubu also emphasized the urgent need to tackle Nigeria’s electricity crisis, which he described as a central obstacle to economic growth and poverty reduction.
“Yes, it is a shame not to have adequate electricity for the majority of homes in Nigeria and to power our industries. How can we address poverty without electricity? We can take many people out of poverty with an uninterrupted electricity supply. Poverty is not acceptable, and we must banish it,” he said.
The President applauded Mr. Tony Elumelu, Chairman of UBA Plc and Heirs Holdings, whose keynote address laid out a private-sector-led agenda for economic transformation. Tinubu assured the gathering that his government will partner with business leaders to drive investment, create jobs, and unlock Nigeria’s vast potential, especially in gas and energy.
Earlier, in his welcome address, NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), expressed the Bar’s confidence in Tinubu’s leadership, citing his track record as Lagos State Governor from 1999 to 2007.
“President Tinubu got it right in Lagos, and it is our considered expectation that as President of Nigeria, you will not only replicate your achievements in Lagos but surpass them for our country,” Maikyau said.
The opening ceremony of the NBA conference drew an impressive list of dignitaries, including the Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike; Minister of Sports, Senator John Enoh; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; several past NBA Presidents, senior legal icons, and top government officials.
By combining economic restructuring, justice reform, electricity revival, and private sector collaboration, President Tinubu signaled his determination to reset Nigeria’s development trajectory. His message to the legal profession and the broader Nigerian public was clear: only through hard choices and collective resolve can the country escape the grip of poverty and claim its place among the world’s prosperous nations.
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