Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has taken a swipe at President Bola Tinubu, arguing that after more than two years in office, there is still “no indication” that his administration can address the hunger and poverty troubling Nigerians.
The African Democratic Party (ADC) stalwart described the situation as “unacceptable,” particularly for the poor and vulnerable.
“Whatever reform the Tinubu government might claim to be undertaking, the point remains that food insecurity is a daily occurrence nationwide.
“There is no government worth its salt that does not place priority on the welfare and security of the people,” Atiku said.
He cautioned that “most violent socio-political uprisings and revolutions around the world have been driven by widespread hunger and unbearable living conditions, especially the paradox of extreme poverty in a land of abundance.”
Through a statement on Monday released by his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku reiterated that government exists first to guarantee citizens’ welfare and safety.
He lamented that under Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC), “millions of Nigerians are increasingly trapped in poverty and misery.”
According to him, the worsening state of the country provides “little reason for optimism” as it continues to drive insecurity and crimes such as fraud, terrorism, kidnapping, cultism, drug abuse, and ritual killings.
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He further advised that the “current unacceptable situation offers an opportunity for reflection,” pointing to historical lessons like the French Revolution, the 1917 Russian Revolution, and the Arab Spring.
Atiku recalled how desperation led a Tunisian youth to set himself ablaze, sparking unrest that spread across the Middle East and North Africa.
“Back home here in Nigeria, it may not be out of place to argue that even the “ENDSARS” protest was fuelled by the traumatising frustration of hunger and insensitivity on the part of the government,” he stated.
He pressed that reforms must serve the people directly, not the reverse.
“Whether the present powers accept it or not, the reality of our existence is that the poor are increasingly dying of hunger while the majority of the living poor exists at the mercy of the ill-advised policies of this government.”