Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the United States Ambassador, Richard Mills Jr., in Abuja.
This was as the All Progressives Congress (APC) described the former VP’s alarm on “hunger and insecurity” as false, saying the statement on Monday was a new low in a recent streak of incendiary commentaries.
Atiku, in a post on his official Facebook account, while sharing images from the meeting, disclosed that his discussion with the envoy centred on the partnership between Nigeria and the U.S., particularly on democracy and security.
The post reads, “This afternoon, I had the honour of leading a delegation on a courtesy visit to the U.S. Ambassador, Richard Mills Jr., in Abuja. Our discussion focused on strengthening the enduring partnership between Nigeria and the U.S., particularly in the areas of advancing democracy, security, and promoting shared prosperity.”
Atiku, a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who is aspiring for the country’s top job in 2027, described tribalism as the bane of national progress and a malignant disease that must be shunned at all costs by all, particularly the masses.
According to him, the elite stands out as the most culpable in using tribalism as a divisive gimmick to set one ethnic group against the other. The end-point of this divisive antics, he added, is geared towards achieving their political ambition by asking their tribesmen not to vote for a particular political contestant ‘for being so unfortunate to have hailed from another tribe’ rather than assess him by his sterling qualities.
Against this background, he advised the electorate to eschew the deadly malaise of tribalism in choosing and electing their leaders. He advised: “Your exclusive point of focus must necessarily bother on the competence of the person based on his antecedents, among his numerous qualities, rather than what ethnic group he hails from. In this coming election, I beseech you all as my esteemed fellow compatriots to vote according to your conscience and never allow anyone to subject you to the perverted delusion that you must not vote for a particular candidate just because he is Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba.”
Meanwhile, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said while Atiku’s comment was garbed as a critique of the economic policies of President Tinubu’s administration, it was nothing short of a tacit instigation of a revolution in Nigeria.
“His statement is reckless, irresponsible, unbefitting and degrading to his status as former Vice President. As a two-term VP, Atiku and his PDP, at the time, had the opportunity, backed by humongous oil revenues, to eradicate hunger, poverty and insecurity. But they failed to do so.
“In fact, they made absolutely no impression against hunger, poverty and insecurity in Nigeria. They governed for 16 years, did not and could not eradicate hunger, poverty and insecurity in Nigeria,” Morka alleged.
However, the APC chief believes that Nigerians will ignore Atiku’s statement as self-serving, anti-democratic and a threat to the peace, unity, interest and progress of the country.
Atiku, he added, hardly resides in Nigeria and will not be available to partake in the attendant pain, destruction, mayhem and desolation that revolution any will bring. He urged Nigerians to remain steadfast in support of Tinubu’s administration “as it continues to build a nation of our collective dream.”
