The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described President Bola Tinubu’s 65th Independence Anniversary address as brilliant rhetoric that lacks substance and fails to address issues affecting Nigerians.

Naijaonpoint reports that ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, in an interview with Vanguard, stated that Tinubu’s optimism contrasted sharply with the daily reality of hardship and insecurity still faced by ordinary Nigerians.

Abdullahi also questioned the President’s declaration that ‘the worst is over’ because it offers no clarity or promise.

He said, “The question we should ask is: When the President says the worst is over, what does that really mean? What does success look like? What should we expect now that the President has declared the worst is behind us? Because when the President makes such a claim, he is suggesting that our suffering has been worthwhile.

“The average Nigerian will ask: if the worst is over, why am I still suffering? If the worst is over, what should I therefore expect? As I said, it was a brilliant political speech, but it promises nothing. It says nothing about what will actually affect the lives of Nigerians.”

The ADC spokesman emphasised that while Tinubu’s address might make newspaper headlines, it offered little reassurance to struggling Nigerians.

He noted, “For me, as I said, it was good rhetoric, a brilliant speech that will make headlines in tomorrow’s newspapers. But for the average Nigerian, it means little. And the manner in which this is being done is shameful, because if things continue as they are, only God can help Nigeria.”

On security, Abdullahi criticised Tinubu’s emphasis on the killing of some terrorist leaders as proof of progress, saying it reflected a shallow understanding of the magnitude of the crisis.

He stressed, “To reduce the complexity of insecurity in Nigeria to the elimination of a few terrorist leaders suggests that the President does not fully understand the magnitude of the challenges we face. Just this week, a colleague of ours was murdered in the Federal Capital Territory when 14 armed robbers invaded the premises, according to reports. How does the killing of a handful of terrorists address that?”