Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has lamented President Bola Tinubu, saying that more than two years into his administration, there is still no evidence that he can effectively address the widespread hunger and poverty affecting the country.
The African Democratic Party (ADC) chieftain described the level of hunger in the country as unacceptable, particularly among the underprivileged and downtrodden.
“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 warned 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.”
In a statement issued on Monday through his spokesman, Paul Ibe, Atiku emphasized that the primary responsibility of any government is to ensure the security and welfare of its citizens.
However, he lamented that under the leadership of President Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC), millions of Nigerians are increasingly trapped in poverty and misery.
According to Atiku, the current state of the nation offers little reason for optimism, as it is fueling a growing surge in criminal activities, including large-scale fraud, terrorism, kidnapping, cultism, drug abuse, and ritual killings, among others.
He advised that the “current unacceptable situation offers an opportunity for reflection,” citing historical examples such as the French Revolution, the 1917 Russian Revolution, and the Arab Spring.
He recalled how a young man, driven by unbearable frustration, set himself ablaze, an act that triggered widespread socio-political unrest, beginning in Tunisia and spreading 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 said.
He stressed further that since reforms are made for citizens and not the other way round, the reforms of this administration should have a human face.
“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.”
