Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu of pursuing “conquest” not “governance,” alleging that Nigeria’s democracy is under threat from creeping authoritarianism, elite cronyism, and institutional subversion under the current administration.
In a strongly worded Democracy Day statement on Thursday, Atiku warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is dismantling the democratic foundations hard-won since the historic June 12, 1993, election.
The PDP leader said the Tinubu government is out to govern but primed to dominate, subdue, and silence opposition voices, adding that Nigeria is teetering on the edge of a “dangerous precipice.”
“The ruling party and its federal government now govern with the unmistakable intent to dominate, subdue, and silence,” he said.
“Their tactics are not subtle. Opposition voices are being systematically erased. Contracts for multi-billion-naira infrastructure are funneled to cronies and family associates of the president. National institutions, once symbols of unity, are being brazenly renamed in honour of a sitting president, as though the country were a private estate. What we are witnessing is not governance, it is conquest.
“This government represents the lowest ebb in our democratic journey. Institutions have been weaponized. Policies are crafted not to empower the people but to entrench fear, obedience, and control. The common Nigerian has been abandoned at the altar of elite comfort. And make no mistake: this is the antithesis of everything June 12 stands for.”
Recalling the sacrifices made during the June 12 struggle, including his own decision to step aside for the late MKO Abiola, Atiku lamented that the ideals for which many died—including Kudirat Abiola, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, and Alfred Rewane—are being eroded.
He emphasised that the battle for Nigeria’s democratic soul has reached another critical juncture, calling for a united opposition front not driven by the pursuit of power, but by a moral duty to rescue the country from despotism.
“This is not just a political contest; it is a moral crusade,” Atiku said, urging Nigerians to rise in defence of democracy, justice, and national dignity.
“As long as oppression thrives, June 12 lives on, not just as memory, but as movement,” he concluded.