Three major opposition politicians, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna) and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), have delivered hard knocks on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the worsening insecurity, hunger, and poverty in the nation,vowing to stop his bid to be reelected in 2027.
The trio spoke at the weekend during a public lecture themed “Weaponisation of Poverty as a Means of Underdevelopment: A Case Study of Nigeria” to mark Amaechi’s 60th birthday.
Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), pointed accusing fingers at the Tinubu administration for deliberately weaponising poverty as a tool of political control.
“You may call me a conspirator, you may call me anything,” Atiku said. “That is why we are in this alliance — to make sure we don’t allow them to continue weaponising poverty.”
He stated that the Tinubu administration had failed to meet expectations and was using poverty as a political tool.
“What we are experiencing in Nigeria today is state-sanctioned weaponisation of poverty,” he declared.
“When I was growing up in the North, Kano State was the most prosperous. After secondary school, I was posted there. I never saw people sleeping outside — not under bridges, not in front of shops.
“But recently, during a visit to Kano, I saw people sleeping everywhere — under bridges, on the streets — driven out by poverty and insecurity.
“There’s a state agency in Kano that provides support to such people. They began their work — relocating people from under bridges, enlightening them, helping them. What happened? They were called to a meeting and told to stop,” he added.”
On his part, former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, described Nigeria’s current condition as the worst since the country’s amalgamation in 1914.
“Nigeria is in its biggest trouble since 1914. That’s why we are working and conspiring to build a coalition to take Nigeria back on track — because right now, it is off track,” he said.
He blamed the deterioration on “urban bandits” — leaders who have seized power without competence or vision.
“We’ve allowed bandits, not the ones in the bush but those in urban areas — the so-called urban bandits — to take over leadership.
“Our biggest problem is that we hand over power to people who have no idea what to do. They only know how to seize power but not what to do with it afterwards.”
He called on Nigerians to elect leaders with the “competence, capability, capacity, and commitment” to move the country forward.
