An Open Letter to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on Nigeria’s 66th Independence

Thursday 1st October 2026.

Your Excellency,

My name is Peter Ogbudu, also known as Gana, a Nigerian citizen writing to you not as a politician, not as an opposition voice, and not as someone seeking favour, but simply as a Nigerian who is deeply concerned about the condition of our country and the suffering of our people.

As Nigeria marks 66 years of independence, I believe this is a moment when we must speak honestly about the Nigeria that exists beyond official speeches, statistics and government briefings.

Mr. President, millions of Nigerians are hurting.

Families are struggling to put food on the table. Parents are losing sleep over school fees. Young people with dreams and qualifications are finding it increasingly difficult to find meaningful work. The cost of food, transportation, housing, electricity and basic necessities has placed enormous pressure on ordinary citizens.

For many Nigerians, life has become a daily struggle simply to survive.

And this is the reality I respectfully ask you to look at—not through the reports that reach your desk, but through the eyes of the market woman, the mechanic, the farmer, the teacher, the civil servant, the student, the unemployed graduate, the pensioner and the young Nigerian wondering whether there is still a future for him or her in this country.

Mr. President, please listen to Nigerians directly.

I am deeply concerned that some of the people around you may be giving you a picture of Nigeria that does not fully reflect what ordinary citizens are experiencing. Perhaps they tell you that things are improving, that Nigerians are adjusting, or that the hardship is temporary.

But Your Excellency, a hungry family cannot eat statistics. A parent cannot pay school fees with promises. A sick person cannot buy medicine with economic projections.

Government exists to serve the people, and when the people are suffering, those in government must be willing to hear that suffering—even when the truth is uncomfortable.

I am not writing this letter to condemn you. I am writing because Nigeria is bigger than any president, any political party or any government. And because you are the President today, history has placed in your hands an enormous responsibility.

Please do everything within your power to make life easier for Nigerians.

Let the success of your administration be measured not only by economic indicators, but by whether the ordinary Nigerian can afford food, find work, access healthcare, educate their children, travel safely and live with dignity.

Let us build an economy where prosperity is felt in people’s homes and not only discussed in government offices.

Let the government fight corruption wherever it is found, reduce waste, protect public resources and ensure that the sacrifices Nigerians are being asked to make are matched by sacrifices from those who govern them.

Mr. President, please do not allow the voices closest to you to become louder than the voices of the Nigerians.

Go beyond the official briefings.

Listen to Nigerians without intermediaries.

Visit ordinary communities. Speak with people whose names will never appear in government reports. Hear the stories of mothers who cannot feed their children adequately, young people who cannot find opportunities, workers whose salaries disappear before the month ends, and families who are struggling under the rising cost of living.

Their stories are also the story of Nigeria.

On this 66th Independence anniversary, Nigerians should not have to ask for luxury. They are asking for the basics of a dignified life.

They are asking for food they can afford.

They are asking for jobs.

They are asking for security.

They are asking for affordable healthcare and education.

They are asking for electricity and infrastructure that work.

They are asking for justice.

They are asking for hope.

Mr. President, please make the pain of Nigerians your personal concern.

History will not only remember the policies your government announced. It will remember how Nigerians lived while those policies were being implemented. It will remember whether people felt abandoned or heard, whether families found relief or deeper hardship, and whether the government responded when citizens cried out.

Nigeria has enormous potential. We have brilliant young people, hardworking citizens, natural resources, entrepreneurs, farmers, professionals and people who continue to believe in this country despite everything they have endured.

Please do not let their hope die.

Mr. President, hear the people. See the people. Feel the people. Serve the people.

Let the remaining months of your administration be remembered as a period when government listened more closely, acted more decisively and worked relentlessly to make life better for the ordinary Nigerian.

We are not asking for miracles.

We are asking for leadership that understands the weight people are carrying and does everything possible to help them carry it.

May Nigeria become a country where independence is not merely something we celebrate every October, but something ordinary Nigerians can actually feel in their lives—through dignity, opportunity, security and hope.

Happy 66th Independence Anniversary, Nigeria.

May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria and every Nigerian, at home and abroad.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Ogbudu (Gana)

A concerned Nigerian citizen