Presidency, Atiku trade words over hunger, poverty

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar stated on Monday that two years after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took office, there are no signs he can address the country’s widespread hunger and poverty. The opposition leader, who described the situation as “unacceptable,” particularly for the poor and underprivileged, warned that “most violent socio-political eruptions and revolutions all […]

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar stated on Monday that two years after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took office, there are no signs he can address the country’s widespread hunger and poverty.

The opposition leader, who described the situation as “unacceptable,” particularly for the poor and underprivileged, warned that “most violent socio-political eruptions and revolutions all over the world have often been powered by pervasive hunger and unbearable material conditions.” He highlighted the “paradox of squalor amidst plenty in our land.”

In a swift reaction, the Presidency, through Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, dismissed Atiku’s remarks, saying, “Talk is cheap.” The Presidency claimed the former vice president and his team are out of touch with the country’s current positive developments.

Onanuga called Atiku’s claims that Nigeria is ravaged by hunger and his comparison to the 1789 French Revolution or the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia “grossly misleading.” He asserted that people are proud of the progress made under the current administration and that Atiku’s latest statement shows a disconnect from authentic Nigerian reality.

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“Recent data tells a different story,” Onanuga said. “Just today, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released figures for August, showing that headline inflation has declined for the fifth consecutive month. Over the weekend, the NBS also reported a record trade surplus, with the contribution of non-oil exports to our trade balance now nearly matching that of crude oil at a ratio of 48:52 percent.”

He also noted that foreign exchange reserves are rising, approaching $42 billion, up from $32 billion when President Tinubu took office. He added that the administration has since cleared over $7 billion in arrears, including $800 million owed to airlines.

Onanuga stressed that under President Tinubu, Nigeria is recording unprecedented revenues, allowing states to pay salaries and gratuities promptly with surplus funds for capital and social projects-an achievement “not previously witnessed at this scale.”

According to the Presidency, “Many of the challenges we face today stem from the economic mismanagement during the PDP years, when Atiku was Vice President. President Tinubu and his team are working relentlessly to correct those errors with bold reforms.”

Earlier, in his statement, Atiku had said the “current unacceptable situation offers an opportunity for reflection.” He likened the situation to the French Revolution, the 1917 Russian Revolution, and the Arab Spring, in which a young man’s frustration led him to set himself ablaze, sparking violent socio-political eruptions.

He also argued that the “ENDSARS” protest was fueled by the “traumatizing frustration of hunger and insensitivity on the part of the government.” He reiterated that two years into the Tinubu administration, “there are still no manifest signs that this government is capable of addressing the grim issue of severe hunger.”

“Whatever reform the Tinubu government might claim to be undertaking, the point remains that food insecurity is a daily occurrence nationwide,” Atiku said. “There is no government worth its salt that does not place priority on the welfare and security of the people.”

He stressed that reforms should have a “human face” since they are meant for citizens. “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 exist at the mercy of the ill-advised policies of this government,” he added.