Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to embark on a three-week trip to Europe, arguing that Nigeria is facing serious economic and security challenges that require the president’s presence in the country.
Atiku, in a statement, said that while Nigeria was not facing a constitutional vacuum, the country was experiencing what he described as a “disturbing vacuum of political leadership”.
He said the circumstances confronting Nigerians made the president’s extended absence from the country difficult to justify.
“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, high petrol prices, increased transport fares and insecurity among the challenges confronting Nigerians.
He said many families were struggling to afford basic necessities, while insecurity continued to claim lives across the country.
According to him, the situation requires political leadership that is physically and emotionally connected to the challenges facing citizens.
The former vice president also expressed concern that Vice President Kashim Shettima was outside the country on official duties at the time of the president’s trip.
“The Vice President is abroad on official duty. That makes the President’s decision even more difficult to understand,” Atiku said.
He argued that leadership was not simply about occupying a constitutional office but also about exercising judgment and responding appropriately to national circumstances.
“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.
Atiku used an analogy of a family whose house was on fire to illustrate his criticism of the president’s absence.
“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.
The former vice president maintained that his criticism was not based on the argument that a president should never travel or take time to rest, but on his assessment of the current situation in the country.
“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 argued that the hardship being experienced by Nigerians had created a growing disconnect between the government and the people.
“Millions of Nigerians are being grounded by hardship while their President is airborne. The people can barely afford to move, but the President keeps moving,” Atiku said.
He accused the administration of failing to adequately respond to the economic difficulties confronting citizens.
“A government that cannot feel the pain it inflicts will never summon the will to end it,” he said.
Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, also restated his criticism of the economic policies of the Tinubu administration.
“Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again,” he said.
The former vice president has remained a prominent critic of the Tinubu administration, particularly on issues relating to the economy, governance and national security.
The Presidency had yet to respond to Atiku’s latest comments at the time of filing this report.