Former Vice President of Nigeria and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, says “the era of political complacency, propaganda, and governance by deception” is drawing to a close, stating that Nigerians have seen enough and are preparing to reclaim their country through the power of the ballot.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said that as the Tinubu administration marks three years in office, its most fitting report card is not the glossy advertisements, expensive media campaigns, or self-congratulatory speeches emanating from Abuja, but the tears of hungry families, the despair of unemployed youths, the collapse of businesses, and the haunting images of schoolchildren being abducted by criminals while a complacent government looks the other way.

According to Atiku, every government is entitled to its own opinions, but no government is entitled to its own facts.

“The facts are stubborn and unforgiving. Three years ago, President Tinubu promised renewed hope. What Nigerians have received instead is renewed hardship, renewed insecurity, renewed poverty, and renewed hopelessness.

“Today, millions of Nigerians can no longer afford the basic necessities of life. Food prices have skyrocketed beyond the reach of ordinary families. Inflation has become a cruel tax on the poor. Small and medium-scale businesses are shutting their doors. Investors are fleeing uncertainty. The naira has been battered. Purchasing power has collapsed.

“Never in recent history have so many Nigerians worked so hard only to become poorer. Never has a government celebrated itself so loudly while its citizens suffered so deeply.

“While Nigerians endure the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, this administration continues to manufacture statistics, stage elaborate ceremonies, and engage in endless public relations exercises designed to create the illusion of progress where none exists.

“What makes this failure even more scandalous is the reckless borrowing that has accompanied it. This administration has borrowed trillions of naira in the name of infrastructure and economic development, yet Nigerians cannot see corresponding improvements in their daily lives.

“Public reports indicate that while the Federal Government borrowed approximately N11.9 trillion within a nine-month period, only N3.1 trillion was reportedly spent on capital projects. Nigerians are therefore entitled to ask a simple question: where did the rest of the money go?

“Even more troubling is that a substantial portion of the infrastructure spending that has been publicly highlighted appears concentrated on projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Badagry-Sokoto Highway, both awarded to a company owned by a businessman whom President Tinubu publicly described as his ‘partner in daring.’

“This administration has created the disturbing perception that while ordinary Nigerians are being asked to endure sacrifice, the benefits of government spending are increasingly flowing towards a privileged circle of politically connected interests.

“A government that borrows trillions but cannot transparently account for the impact of those borrowings on the lives of its citizens has no business celebrating itself. Nigerians are not interested in debt accumulation. They are interested in results.”

Atiku said perhaps the most damning indictment of the Tinubu administration’s three-year record is the resurgence of mass abductions and the growing sense that the Nigerian state is steadily losing its monopoly over security.

“While government officials celebrate themselves and distribute scorecards, terrorists and criminal gangs are distributing fear across the country.

“The recent abduction of schoolchildren in Borno State and the mass kidnapping of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State are not isolated incidents. They are the most accurate report card of this administration after three years in office.

“What greater evidence of failure can there be than parents sending their children to school only to receive news that they have been abducted? What greater symbol of governmental failure exists than classrooms becoming hunting grounds for criminals?

“Three years into this administration, Nigerian children are still being dragged into forests by terrorists and kidnappers. Three years into this administration, communities remain vulnerable. Three years into this administration, citizens continue to pay the price for a government that appears more concerned with managing headlines than securing lives.

“The tragedy of Borno and Oyo is not merely a security failure. It is the inevitable consequence of a government that has become detached from reality and addicted to propaganda.

“When governments become consumed by self-praise, they stop listening. When they stop listening, they stop learning. And when they stop learning, they begin to fail.”

Atiku said the Tinubu administration has spent three years asking Nigerians to ignore their lived experiences and instead believe carefully curated narratives from government spokespersons.

“They tell Nigerians the economy is improving, yet families skip meals. They tell Nigerians insecurity is declining, yet communities live in fear. They tell Nigerians prosperity is around the corner, yet businesses continue to collapse under unbearable pressure.

“No amount of propaganda can fill an empty stomach. No amount of spin can erase insecurity. No amount of government advertising can hide the suffering that millions experience every day.

“The true measure of governance is not what government says about itself. It is what citizens experience in their daily lives.”

The former Vice President warned that history is filled with governments that mistook the patience of the people for permanent acceptance.

“There is a difference between patience and satisfaction. There is a difference between endurance and approval.

“Nigerians have endured extraordinary hardship because they are resilient people. But resilience should never be mistaken for weakness. Patience should never be mistaken for surrender.

“The signs are everywhere. Across the country, Nigerians are asking hard questions. They are demanding accountability. They are refusing to be distracted by slogans and political theatre.

“They understand that a government that cannot guarantee security, create opportunities, stabilize the economy, or protect the dignity of its citizens has no moral basis for asking to be rewarded with another term.”

Atiku stressed that democracy provides Nigerians with a peaceful and constitutional instrument for change.

“The ballot box remains the most powerful weapon in the hands of the people. It is stronger than propaganda. It is stronger than intimidation. It is stronger than incumbency.

“Those who believe that Nigerians will forget the hunger, insecurity, joblessness, and economic pain of the last three years are engaged in dangerous self-deception.

“Power belongs to the people. It does not belong to political parties. It does not belong to incumbents. It does not belong to governments. It belongs to Nigerians, and Nigerians reserve the right to reclaim it whenever they believe their trust has been betrayed.” (Daily Trust)