Former Vice President and 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has expressed grave concern over the worsening hunger and poverty in Nigeria, warning that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has failed to show any concrete plan to tackle the crisis.
In a statement issued on Monday by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku said millions of Nigerians are being pushed to the brink of survival, with no clear evidence that the government is capable of easing their suffering.
“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 cautioned that unchecked poverty and food insecurity could spark civil unrest, drawing parallels with historic uprisings like the French Revolution, the 1917 Russian Revolution, and the Arab Spring — which began when a young Tunisian set himself ablaze in protest of economic hardship.
Atiku also recalled Nigeria’s own 2020 #EndSARS protests, which he said were partly driven by frustration over government insensitivity and harsh living conditions.
“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 stated.
The former vice president stressed that reforms must be people-centered, warning that policies without a human face would continue to deepen suffering.
“Whether the present powers accept it or not, the reality 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,” Atiku added.
He urged the administration to see the worsening economic situation as a call for sober reflection and to prioritize urgent measures to prevent the situation from spiraling into chaos.
