Nigeria @ 65: Empty promises, harsh realities, Atiku’s aide faults Tinubu’s speech

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has launched  a blistering attacks on President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day national broadcast, dismissing his claims of progress as “empty rhetoric divorced from the daily struggles of Nigerians.”

Shaibu in a statement issued moments after the President’s speech, warned that while Tinubu painted a picture of resilience and reform, ordinary Nigerians are battling hunger, insecurity and despair.

“The yam may be plentiful, but if the pot is empty, the stomach still rumbles. Today, Nigeria’s pot is not only empty but cracked, and the people remain hungry”, he declared.

President Tinubu, in his broadcast, celebrated increases in schools, hospitals and reforms in the economy. But the citizen’s rejoinder struck back with biting proverbs, insisting that classrooms remain bare, hospitals lack basic facilities and citizens cannot feel the impact of claimed reforms.

“A man who builds many huts without roofs has only built shade for goats,” the statement said, noting that while the government boasts of infrastructure, pupils still learn on bare floors and patients must supply their own candles and drugs before receiving treatment.

Shaibu also painted a grim picture of daily life, noting that while food prices have skyrocketed, transport costs have eroded wages and millions of households now struggle to afford a single meal.

“If these are the seeds of reforms, then the fruit is still bitter. When the roof is on fire, it is folly to declare the rain has quenched it”, Shaibu wrote.

While President Tinubu praised the armed forces, Nigerians, the statement argued, remain unsafe. Banditry, kidnapping and robbery continue unchecked.

The statement cited the tragic killing of Somtochukwu Maduagwu, a young Arise TV news anchor, in a robbery attack just this week as proof that “no one – not even the voices that bring us the news – is safe in today’s Nigeria.”

“A farmer cannot boast the bush is cleared while weeds still choke his yam,” it added.

The former vice president’s aide criticized government’s rhetoric on youth empowerment, accusing leaders of offering hollow promises while young graduates are forced into menial jobs or roadside hustles to survive.

“You cannot tell a child to dream big while you steal the mat he sleeps on,” the statement charged.

At 65, Nigeria, according to him, should not be celebrating statistics or rehearsing speeches but confronting the stark realities of poverty, insecurity and broken systems.

“A masquerade does not clap for itself; it is the crowd that cheers when the steps are sweet. Nigerians are not clapping, because the music they hear is hunger, insecurity and despair.

“Independence anniversaries are moments of sober reflection, not self-praise. Nigeria is 65 years old. But our leaders still serve promises as though they were meals. The yam is there, but the pot remains empty”, Shaibu declared.

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