Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate, claims that citizens are enduring their most challenging times during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s tenure. Speaking through his aide, Phrank Shaibu, on Wednesday, Atiku criticized the administration’s recent efforts to minimize reports regarding widespread poverty and violence.
The former vice president argued that the Presidency is detached from reality by blaming the media for reporting on economic decline and insecurity. According to Atiku, hunger has become a hallmark of the current government. He asserted that families struggling to afford food and business owners facing financial ruin do not need news reports to validate their own lived experiences of inflation and hardship.
Atiku further challenged the government’s stance by listing various national crises that the media did not manufacture. He specifically pointed to killings in Benue and Plateau, banditry in Zamfara, Katsina, and Niger, and the frequent abduction of students and teachers across multiple states. He concluded that dismissing these struggles as media exaggerations is an insult to the millions of Nigerians currently facing severe economic and security challenges.
