.Stop instigating anarchy with your utterances, APC warns ex-vice president
From Cyril Mbah, Abuja.
Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has attributed the worsening spate of insecurity across the country to the failure of political leadership.
Atiku made the observation on Tuesday while playing host to political stakeholders from Borno State, led by Hon. Mohammed Kumalia.
He expressed his delight at how political leaders are coming together from across political divides to salvage the country from the current deplorable situation.
“it is encouraging to see that more people, especially political leaders across the country, are increasingly becoming concerned about the deteriorating state of the Nigerian nation to the extent of engaging in finding solutions, round the clock.”
He noted the deep conversation that he had with the Borno leaders centred more on the current worsening insecurity in the country, especially in Northern Nigeria.
“The consensus is that the occupation of Nigerian territories across some parts of North East, North West, and North Central states is a clear failure of political leadership, especially under the Tinubu-led APC Federal Government.
“It is not anything that is beyond the capacity of the Nigerian security services to deal with. The government hasn’t shown the capacity to deal with it. Unless we have a leadership that can confront all these criminal structures and deal with it decisively, you can’t resolve these issues.
“How can a whole local government be under the control of bandits? It is unacceptable that bandits or terrorists continue to take over communities, imposing levies on citizens and disrupting farming activities.
“I believe that with the right political leadership, Nigerian security forces have the capacity to take on the insecurity confronting the country. It has become urgent for citizens to unite and rescue Nigeria.”
Atiku expressed his appreciation to the Borno stakeholders for their show of concern about the state of the nation and expressed readiness to support efforts aimed at restoring the peace and economic prosperity of the country.
.Stop instigating anarchy with your utterances, APC warns ex-vice president
Meanwhile, The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted a statement by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, describing, the comments as a new low, in a recent streak of incendiary commentaries.
Barrister Felix Morka, National Publicity Secretary said in a statement on Wednesday that Atiku sounded a false alarm about “hunger and insecurity,” and dismissed the transformative reforms of the President Bola Tinubu’s administration, and likened Nigeria’s situation to circumstances that justified historic violent revolutions and uprising in France, Russia and the Arab Spring.
“While garbed as a critique of the economic policies of President Tinubu’s administration, Atiku’s statement is nothing short of a tacit instigation of a revolution in Nigeria. His statement is reckless, irresponsible, unbefitting and degrading to his status as former Vice President.
“As a two-term Vice President, Atiku and his PDP, at the time, had the opportunity, backed by humongous oil revenues, to eradicate hunger, poverty and insecurity. Atiku and his PDP failed to do so. In fact, they made absolutely no impression against hunger, poverty and insecurity in Nigeria. They governed for 16 years, did not and could not eradicate hunger, poverty and insecurity in Nigeria. Instead, Atiku and his PDP democratized hunger and poverty in our country. They plundered and looted our treasury, and enthroned corruption and profligacy as state policy. Atiku and his PDP cemented the sordid foundations of hunger, poverty and insecurity that President Tinubu is battling courageously and relentlessly to defeat, with growing success.”
The APC statement said “As Vice President, Atiku was clueless about solving Nigeria’s economic challenges. As a forever-presidential aspirant, he remains eminently clueless about what it takes to tackle our country’s economic challenges. Atiku’s confession to the looting of $16 billion meant to provide electricity to Nigerians, under his watch as Vice President, is a stark reminder of his record of incompetent and failed leadership. Now out of power, Atiku thinks himself as possessing knowledge and capacity he so miserably lacked when he had the opportunity to govern as Vice President. That is utterly delusional. Nigerians know this and it is the reason they have serially rebuffed his attempts to be president. Nigerians are on standby to deal Atiku, hopefully, a full and final rejection in 2027.
“Blinded by desperation, tormented by President Tinubu’s impressive and inimitable strides, distraught by an unrealized presidential ambition, disoriented by anxieties of a far faded political future, Atiku has become incapable of objective, reasoned and rational assessment of the state of our rebounded and stable economy, now set to secure growth and deliver prosperity for our nation.
“That Atiku’s disturbing statement was made on a day when all news platforms had headline reports of consistent lowering of inflation numbers, at a period when all vital economic indicators are looking up and pointing in a positive direction, shows clearly that he is out of touch with the reality of the benefits now flowing from the administration’s transformative Renewed Hope economic reforms.
“Atiku must know that instigating anarchy is not legitimate or justifiable opposition politics. It is wrong, irresponsible, unpatriotic and unacceptable. While critique of the administration’s economic policies is within the opposition’s democratic freedom, instigating violent uprising is not a protected freedom. Violence is never a desirable or acceptable mode of democratic engagement. Atiku should know better and refrain from the use of inflammatory language capable of stoking violence and undermining the peace and safety of Nigerians. His duty to country must trump his desperate and inordinate presidential ambition. “””
We trust Nigerians to ignore Atiku’s inciting statement as self-serving, anti-democratic and a threat to the peace, unity, interest and progress of our dear country. Atiku hardly resides in Nigeria and will not be available to partake in the attendant pain, destruction, mayhem and desolation that the revolution he is instigating will bring. We must guard our God-given liberties and not lend them to be sacrificed at the pleasure of Atiku’s political ambition.
“We urge Nigerians to remain steadfast in support of President Tinubu’s administration as it continues in its unyielding efforts to build a nation of our collective dream,” the statement concluded.
