Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has knocked the President Bola Tinubu-led government over its handling of insecurity and economic hardship.
Atiku accused the Presidency of attempting to shift responsibility for the country’s worsening conditions onto the media and ordinary Nigerians.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described as alarming recent remarks from the presidency suggesting that many kidnapping incidents occur because citizens ignore police warnings against travelling at night.
He argued that such reasoning amounted to an admission that Nigerians could only be safe for a limited part of the day.
“Is the presidency admitting that Nigerians can only be safe for a few hours of the day? Is this an official declaration that Africa’s largest economy has been reduced to an eight-hour economy where citizens must shut down their businesses, abandon legitimate travel, and retreat indoors once the sun sets?” Atiku asked.
Atiku said it was unacceptable for government officials to place the burden of security on citizens rather than on agencies responsible for protecting lives and property.
“The primary duty of any government is the protection of lives and property. Citizens do not surrender their freedoms in exchange for curfews imposed by fear,” he said.
He maintained that insecurity across the country was evident in the daily experiences of Nigerians and could not be dismissed as media exaggeration.
Atiku cited killings in Benue and Plateau states, bandit attacks in Zamfara, Katsina and Niger states, as well as recurring kidnappings and terrorism across several parts of the country.
“A trader travelling from Kano to Lagos, a businessman returning from Abuja to Kaduna, a farmer transporting produce to market, or a family embarking on a legitimate journey should not be blamed when criminals attack them. The blame belongs squarely where it should — on those charged with securing the country,” he said.
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress warned that normalising insecurity by advising citizens to avoid travelling at certain hours would have severe economic consequences.
“A nation cannot prosper when its people are told that safety ends at sunset. Economies grow because people can move freely, trade freely, and conduct lawful activities without fear,” he stated.
Beyond insecurity, Atiku accused the administration of being disconnected from the economic realities facing Nigerians, saying hunger and hardship had become defining features of the current government.
According to him, rising food prices, worsening inflation, unemployment and declining purchasing power have left millions of families struggling to survive.
“The father who goes to bed wondering how to provide the next meal for his family does not need a newspaper report to confirm hardship,” he said.
He also faulted what he described as the presidency’s attempt to blame the media for highlighting insecurity and economic challenges, insisting that journalists were merely reporting realities already being experienced by citizens.
“Blaming journalists for reporting insecurity and hardship is like blaming a thermometer for a fever,” Atiku said.
He warned that governments lose credibility when they focus on managing narratives instead of addressing underlying problems.
“Nigeria does not need explanations for suffering. Nigeria needs solutions. Nigeria does not need lectures about perception. Nigeria needs results,” he added.
The statement comes amid growing public concern over the rising cost of living and persistent security challenges across parts of the country, issues that have dominated national discourse since the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira by the Tinubu-led government.
