Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s three-week trip to Europe, arguing that the country’s economic hardship and worsening insecurity demand his presence at home.
Atiku made the disclosure in a statement posted on his verified Facebook account and sighted by Veracity Online News, where he questioned the President’s decision to embark on the trip at a time many Nigerians were grappling with rising living costs and insecurity.
The former Vice President said the country might not be experiencing a constitutional vacuum, but contended that there was a “disturbing vacuum of political leadership” amid the prevailing challenges.
He listed the high cost of petrol, rising food prices, expensive transportation and persistent insecurity among the problems confronting Nigerians, saying the situation required the President’s attention.
According to him, the President’s absence was particularly difficult to understand because Vice President Kashim Shettima was also out of the country on official duty.
Atiku argued that leadership involved more than occupying a constitutional office, stressing that those in authority must demonstrate sound judgment about when their presence was most needed.
He said, “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.”
The former Vice President further accused the administration of failing to adequately appreciate the hardship faced by ordinary Nigerians, declaring that “a government that cannot feel the pain it inflicts will never summon the will to end it.”
He concluded by contrasting his political promise with the Tinubu administration, saying, “Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.”
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