By Teddy Nwanunobi
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has urged the Federal Government to urgently tackle the economic hardship, insecurity, and the rising cost of living facing 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.
“In many parts of Nigeria today, travelling 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?
“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.
“Nigerians do not care about statistical gymnastics from government spokespersons. They care about whether food is affordable, whether their children are safe, whether businesses can survive, whether farmers can return to their lands, and whether the future still holds any promise. Sadly, under this administration, the answer to those questions is becoming increasingly bleak,” Atiku said in a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Thursday.