Nigeria’s debt: ‘Tinubu govt glorifies borrowing while Nigerians wallow in poverty, fear – Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has faulted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government’s defense of rising debt profile.

In a statement by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Tinubu’s administration glorifies what he described as ‘reckless borrowing’ while many Nigerians sink deeper into hunger and despair.

Recall that some Nigerians have been raising concerns over the country’s rising debt profile, which stood at around N154 trillion according to the Debt Management Office.

This comes at the time the World Bank recently cancelled its $717 million power sector debt to Nigeria.

A presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in his remarks to the rising debt profile concerns, said the country has not over-borrowed like South Africa, Senegal, and other African countries.

Reacting, Atiku said the presidency has once again demonstrated a dangerous disconnect from the grim realities confronting ordinary Nigerians.

“It is both astonishing and insulting that at a time when millions of Nigerians can barely afford one meal a day, when parents are withdrawing children from school because of crushing hardship, when businesses are collapsing under unbearable electricity tariffs and inflation, and when entire communities are being overrun by terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers, the Presidency is celebrating debt figures as though indebtedness itself were an economic achievement,” the statement said.

“Across the country, farmers can no longer safely access their farmlands because vast territories have effectively fallen under the control of armed gangs and terrorists. Food production has declined sharply because rural communities now live under constant threat of attacks, abductions, and killings.

“The inevitable result is what Nigerians are currently witnessing—astronomical food prices, widespread hunger, malnutrition, and rising anger among citizens abandoned by their own government,” Atiku stated.

The former vice president said it was particularly shameful that government officials continue to speak casually about debt while insecurity has reached levels where citizens now budget for ransom payments the same way they budget for school fees or rent.

“In many parts of Nigeria today, traveling by road has become a gamble with death. Families go to bed praying not to receive midnight calls announcing the abduction of loved ones.

“Villages are sacked almost routinely while those in power appear more concerned about image management than decisive action. What exactly are Nigerians benefiting from all these loans if insecurity continues to spread and the economy continues to suffocate?” He queried.

Atiku further accused the Tinubu administration of weaponizing propaganda in an attempt to distract Nigerians from the catastrophic consequences of its economic mismanagement.

“No nation becomes prosperous by borrowing to finance consumption, sustain wasteful government lifestyles, and paper over policy failures.

“Countries that borrow responsibly do so to expand productivity, create jobs, secure critical infrastructure, and improve the welfare of their citizens. In Nigeria today, however, citizens see no correlation between the mounting debt profile and improvement in their daily lives,” he added.

Nigeria’s debt: ‘Tinubu govt glorifies borrowing while Nigerians wallow in poverty, fear – Atiku