Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Monday expressed concern over the level of hunger and poverty among Nigerians, but the Presidency described his comments on hunger and poverty as misleading and out of touch with reality.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party also alleged that the administration of President Bola Tinubu failed to address the hunger crisis.
In a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, the former vice president, said the hardship in the country was pushing the poor to the brink, with no clear evidence that the government had solutions.
“At this time, there are no manifest signs that this government is capable of addressing the grim issue of severe hunger staring the poor in the face after two years in power,” Atiku said.
He warned that unchecked poverty and hunger could fuel widespread unrest, recalling historic revolutions that were triggered by similar conditions.
“The French Revolution, the 1917 Russian Revolution and the Arab Spring in which a young man caught in the maelstrom of unbearable frustration set himself ablaze in a development which occasioned violent socio-political eruptions starting out from Tunisia to engulf 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.
“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.
“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,” he added.
In a swift rebuttal via a statement on Monday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Atiku’s remarks were disconnected from the “authentic Nigerian reality.”
“Talk is cheap. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his handlers are clearly out of touch with the positive developments currently unfolding in our country,” Onanuga said.
He dismissed Atiku’s comparison of Nigeria’s current challenges to historical revolutions as “grossly misleading,” insisting that recent data paints a more optimistic picture of the economy.
“Just today, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its 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 per cent,” Onanuga noted.
According to him, Nigeria’s foreign reserves have risen to nearly $42 billion, up from $32 billion when Tinubu assumed office, even after clearing over $7 billion in arrears, including $800 million owed to international airlines.
He added that the administration is recording unprecedented revenues, enabling states to pay salaries and gratuities promptly while still funding capital and social projects.
“Nigeria is moving in the right direction. In contrast, Atiku and his party remain stuck in the past, fixated on doomsday scenarios and revolutionary rhetoric. Ironically, many of the challenges we face today stem from the economic mismanagement during the PDP years, when Atiku was vice president,” Onanuga said.
He stressed that after two years and five months in office, Tinubu’s government has shown progress with “bold reforms” and Nigerians “can see and feel the positive changes taking place across the nation.”
The PUNCH
