‘Nigeria is burning’ — Atiku faults Tinubu for embarking on Europe vacation

Former Vice-President and 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to embark on a three-week vacation in Europe amid the country’s economic and security challenges.

Atiku, in a statement issued after Tinubu’s departure, said the President’s absence from the country at a time of widespread hardship reflected what he described as a “disturbing vacuum of political leadership”.

He acknowledged that there was no constitutional vacuum, but argued that the circumstances surrounding the President’s trip raised questions about his leadership priorities.

“Nigeria may not be facing a constitutional vacuum today, but there is a disturbing vacuum of political leadership,” Atiku said.

The former vice-president contrasted Tinubu’s trip with his own travels, noting that the responsibilities of a sitting president were different from those of a private citizen.

“I have travelled, lived and spent time abroad, and I have never pretended otherwise. But there is a fundamental difference between the travels of a private citizen and the responsibility of the sitting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.

Atiku listed rising living costs, food insecurity, high transport fares and insecurity among the challenges confronting Nigerians, arguing that the situation required the President’s presence in the country.

“Consider what Bola Tinubu is leaving behind. Petrol priced beyond the reach of ordinary people. Families rationing food. Transport fares that have turned a journey to one’s own village into a luxury. Insecurity that buries Nigerians week after week,” he said.

He also noted that Vice-President Kashim Shettima was out of the country on official duty, describing the President’s decision to travel under the circumstances as difficult to understand.

According to Atiku, leadership requires knowing when a country needs the physical presence of its leader.

“Leadership is not merely the constitutional right to occupy an office; it is the judgment to know when your country needs you at home,” he said.

Using a fire analogy, Atiku argued that a leader should remain with his people during a crisis rather than leave the country.

“A father may travel when all is well. But when his roof is burning and his family is trapped inside, he does not pick up his suitcase and head for the airport,” he said.

Atiku stressed that his criticism was not based on the principle that a president should never travel or take time off, but on what he described as the severity of Nigeria’s current challenges.

“It is not that a President must never rest or travel. It is that Nigeria is burning, and the President has chosen a boarding pass over the fire extinguisher,” he said.

He further criticised the economic policies of the Tinubu administration, saying Nigerians were struggling to cope with the rising cost of living.

“Millions of Nigerians are being grounded by hardship while their President is airborne,” Atiku said.

He concluded by contrasting his proposed leadership with the current administration, declaring: “Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.”

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