…Ex-VP warns of looming revolution; Presidency says Atiku stuck in the past
By John Paul
Nigeria’s economic challenges took centre stage again on Monday as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Presidency traded words over the rising wave of hunger and poverty in the country.
Atiku, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, warned in a statement signed by his spokesman, Paul Ibe, that the worsening plight of Nigerians could spark a revolution similar to some of history’s most violent uprisings.
He argued that the Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration had failed in its primary duty to ensure the welfare of citizens, leaving millions to wallow in misery. “The masses of Nigerians are progressively wallowing in poverty under the watch of this administration,” Atiku said, pointing to the spread of hunger as a breeding ground for criminality, terrorism, and civil unrest.
Citing historical precedents, Atiku drew parallels between Nigeria’s current hardship and the French Revolution of 1789, the Russian Revolution of 1917, and the Arab Spring, stressing that social upheavals are often triggered by pervasive hunger and hopelessness. He also linked the 2020 EndSARS protests to frustrations rooted in poverty and government insensitivity.
Two years into Tinubu’s government, Atiku lamented, there are still no clear signs that the administration is capable of reversing the tide. “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,” he said.
But the Presidency swiftly fired back, dismissing Atiku’s warnings as alarmist and outdated. In a statement signed by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said Atiku and his handlers remained “stuck in the past, fixated on doomsday scenarios and revolutionary rhetoric.”
According to Onanuga, Nigeria is “moving in the right direction,” citing recent figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that showed inflation declining for the fifth consecutive month and a record trade surplus driven by non-oil exports. He added that foreign exchange reserves, now approaching $42 billion, had risen significantly from the $32 billion inherited in 2023, even after clearing billions in arrears.
“Under President Tinubu, Nigeria is recording unprecedented revenues. States are now able to pay salaries and gratuities promptly and still have surplus funds for capital and social projects, an achievement not previously witnessed at this scale,” Onanuga said.
He argued that many of today’s economic challenges were rooted in the PDP’s “years of mismanagement” when Atiku himself was Vice President, stressing that Tinubu’s administration is working relentlessly to correct those errors.
“After just two years and five months in office, we are proud of the progress being made under President Tinubu’s leadership. Atiku and his allies may choose to ignore these gains, but Nigerians can see and feel the positive changes taking place across the nation,” Onanuga added.