Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, voiced his alarm on Monday about the extent of poverty and hunger in Nigeria.
Additionally, the Peoples Democratic Party’s 2023 presidential candidate claimed that President Bola Tinubu’s administration did not adequately address the food situation.
In a statement released by his Media Advisor, former Vice President Paul Ibe claimed that the nation’s poverty was driving the poor to the verge of despair and that there was no concrete proof the administration had any answers.
“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.
Recalling past revolutions that were brought on by comparable circumstances, he cautioned that unbridled poverty and hunger may lead to widespread discontent.
“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.
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“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 emphasised that economic hardship has traditionally been a catalyst for social unrest and suggested that Nigeria’s deteriorating circumstances should be used as a chance for introspection.
Atiku emphasised further that this administration’s changes should have a human face since they are designed for the people, not the other way around.
“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.
Their claim that hunger is ravaging Nigeria, and their comparison of our situation to the unrest in France before the 1789 Revolution or the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, is grossly misleading.”
The federal government further lambasted Atiku, citing achievements of Tinubu’s administration including the recently released NBS report revealing that Nigeria’s inflation rates had dropped.
The statement further added, ‘Their latest statement demonstrates a disconnect from the authentic Nigerian reality, as recent data tells a different story. 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.”
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