Nigeria’s Democracy Threatened by Hunger, Corruption, CSOs, Atiku Warn
The Civil society groups and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have warned that Nigeria’s democracy is under severe threat from hunger, corruption, and poor governance.
They called for urgent reforms to strengthen accountability, uphold the rule of law, and safeguard electoral integrity as a way to avert unrest and restore public trust.
The warning came yesterday as the world marked the International Day of Democracy. Atiku decried the rising spate of hunger ravaging the country, particularly among the underprivileged, poor and downtrodden.
In a statement yesterday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, he noted that whereas the primary objective of any government is the security and welfare of its citizens, Nigerians are increasingly wallowing in misery and poverty under the watch of the Tinubu-led APC administration.
According to Atiku, the current situation does not inspire cheer as it fosters a growing tendency towards criminalities in the form of high-wire fraud, terrorism, kidnapping, cultism, drug addiction and ritual sacrifice, among others.
“The Waziri Adamawa recalls that the most violent socio-political eruptions and revolutions all over the world had often been powered by pervasive hunger and unbearable material conditions – especially the paradox of squalor amidst plenty in our land.”
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counselled that the “current unacceptable situation offers an opportunity for reflection.”
Atiku, who is currently leading a coalition group under the African Democratic Party to contest the 2027 presidential election, compared Nigeria’s present condition to the French Revolution, the 1917 Russian Revolution and the Arab Spring, in which a young man, overwhelmed by unbearable frustration, set himself ablaze in a development that triggered violent socio-political eruptions from Tunisia across the Middle East and North Africa.
“Back home here in Nigeria, it may not be out of place to argue that even the ‘EndSARS’ protest was fuelled by the traumatising frustration of hunger and insensitivity on the part of the government.”
He also lamented that two years after assuming office, there are still no manifest signs that the current administration is capable of addressing the grim issue of hunger staring the poor in the face.
“Whatever reform the Tinubu government might claim to be undertaking, the point remains that food insecurity is a daily occurrence nationwide.
“There is no government worth its salt that does not place priority on the welfare and security of the people.” He stressed further that since reforms are made for citizens and not the other way round, the reforms of this administration should have a human face.
“Whether the present powers accept it or not, the reality of our existence is that the poor are increasingly dying of hunger while the majority of the living poor exist at the mercy of the ill-advised policies of this government.”
Uphold accountability, rule of law amid democratic threat, Action Aid tells FG
ActionAid Nigeria tasked the Federal Government with upholding accountability and the rule of law amid mounting threats to democracy. The Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Andrew Mamedu, in a statement yesterday, said the theme of the celebration, “From Voice to Action,” serves as a powerful call on the government to move beyond merely expressing the will of the people to taking decisive steps to translate that will into tangible results and good governance.
He said: “For Nigeria, this year’s commemoration is not a theoretical exercise; it is an urgent demand for a system where the voice of the people is not just heard, but acted upon to repair the fractures in our democracy and ensure its foundational pillars are not eroded.”
