Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Monday lashed out at the All Progressives Congress, the APC-led government of President Bola Tinubu, insisting that the prevailing economic woes in the country are a direct result of Tinubu’s incoherent plan, a development he attributed equally. to the rapid seizure of power by the President without a clear political direction.

Atiku on Sunday responded to the Presidency’s rejection of his earlier request on what he would have done differently if he won the 2023 presidential election to keep the economy in good shape.

He insisted that the federal government cannot get out of the current economic crisis in the country.

In a statement, ‘What would we have done differently’, Atiku criticized the way the federal government handled the fuel subsidy removal as well as fiscal and monetary policies of President Tinubu’s administration and outlined a set of policies that could have to follow them. if he were president.

However, reacting through the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency dismissed Atiku’s alternatives, saying the details were lacking.

Onanuga noted that if the former vice president had won the 2023 presidential election, he would have plunged the country into a worse economic situation or oversee a cronyism regime.

Atiku was quoted as saying, “Like many Nigerians, I strongly believe that we are in this current economic turmoil because of the hasty rise to power of the current administration, lacking a coherent plan.

“In stark contrast, my team not only devised a comprehensive recovery plan, but also welcomed meaningful input from Nigerians, ensuring that our approach was inclusive and well thought out.

“Isn’t it fascinating that the only political response of the so-called tested Tinubu administration seems to be a national prayer led by the First Lady and the National Security Adviser, NSA, just 24 hours after I proposed my alternative solutions? What a bold strategy!”

He mocked Tinubu’s administration for its failures to address hardships in the country, saying, “While prayer is a noble path to follow, the scriptures prescribe diligent work and hard work.”

He argued that many countries emerged as strong economies by encouraging economic growth through low taxes and wondered why Tinubu’s government was fixated on causing new hardship to an already struggling population.

“We cannot hope to force our way out of the economic quagmire created by these misguided experimental policies of a rookie administration.

“Numerous nations such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Monaco, among many others, have emerged as economic powerhouses by stimulating growth through lower taxation.

“One can only speculate that Tinubu’s government is anchored by a simple tea plan that can only lead to a T-pain.

“Furthermore, let me emphasize that the citizens who cast their votes in the 2023 presidential election are well aware that we did not lose; rather, we found ourselves in this situation because the election was criminally stolen from the Nigerian people.

“It is therefore uncharitable for Tinubu’s team to claim that my proposals have gone untested. What remains unproven is the erratic, trial-and-error nature of the policies implemented so far by this administration, which elucidates our current situation,” he argued.

The former vice president continued to back his argument with what he did in the past while in government.

He said: “Let us not forget that under our economic leadership between 1999 and 2003, Nigeria rose to the pinnacle of Africa’s economies while their administration relegated us to a dismal fourth position.

“The average GDP rate under the Obasanjo administration where I worked was 6.59 percent and peaked at 15 percent in 2002; 7.98 percent under the late Yar’Adua administration and 4.8 percent under Jonathan, compared to a dismal 2.8 percent in the so-called “tested” Tinubu era.

Painting a picture of what Nigeria has become in recent times, an educationist from Katsina State, Mallam Sabiu Fago said, “The cloud is gathering and getting darker by the day. Danger lurks around as hunger and starvation bite harder.

“Nigerians are running out of patience with the government and unless urgent action is taken to stop the ugly trend, something disastrous could happen.

“People say they can no longer bear the pain of the government’s economic policies, which have made their lives unbearable and hellish.

“They said that most households can no longer afford to buy food from the market as the prices continue to rise at an astronomical rate and every day; a situation they claimed made them less than human.

“Prices of staples like maize, rice, millet, guinea corn, garri and other food items like beans have all gone through the roof so that hunger and starvation have become the order of the day.

“To make matters worse, the people are also subjected to heavy attacks by various armed groups, from the Boko Haram sect of Islamists to the Fulani herdsmen militia, bandits and kidnappers, with no hope in sight. Kidnapping for ransom has become big business.”

He likened the current realities in Nigeria to an English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes’s image of a state of nature where life is poor, ugly, short and brutal.

Throwing his weight behind the former Vice President, former Katsina State Member of Parliament, Yusuf Shehu agreed that Nigerians are actually going through hell because of the reckless economic policies of the current administration, especially the removal of subsidy on petroleum products, without an alternative arrangement . to cushion its effect on the masses.

“Atiku is right in what he said. How can the president announce that the grant is gone even when he has not even entered the office to see the books and study them?

“No visionary leader will make a political statement without first looking through the books to at least understand what the issues are.

“If you check very well, you will agree with me that from the time he made that announcement on May 29, 2023 till today, Nigerians have not known peace. He suffered all the way and I don’t even see a sign of respite in the near future.

“So Atiku is 100% right in what he said and I would advise the presidency to look within and see what it can do to change the economic fortunes of Nigerians rather than attacking Atiku or rejecting his suggestions .”

He wondered why Tinubu had failed to commission the Port Harcourt Refinery since he removed petrol subsidy.

“You would think that the president, after declaring that the subsidy is gone, would go out of his way to fix our refineries.

“Remember that since assumption of office, Nigerians were told, at least four times, that the PH refinery would be operational at four different times, but none of the promises ever materialized; it was all politics. We cannot continue like this,” he said.

He warned that Atiku’s statement should be taken seriously to avoid possible danger.

He said: “Imagine the situation before Buhari came to power and the situation today; it’s an embarrassment. We are already sitting on a ticking time bomb.

“The protests that have taken place in countries like Kenya will be child’s play compared to what is likely to come out of the northern part of the country when people feel they have been pushed to the wall and can no longer bear the brunt.

“Remember that over time the north has suffered from poverty, hunger, deprivation and many other ills because of our so-called leaders who never and probably never look after the welfare of their people as their primary responsibilities. .

“In this situation, you don’t expect people to obey the law. People can’t be kept in this atmosphere and you expect things to be good.

“People can’t be in this situation and you expect the crime rate to be low. It will be worse because everyone will be a victim, whether you are rich or poor.

“So the sooner the government realizes the poverty of the situation and comes up with a short-term solution by pushing the bureaucracy aside, the better for all of us, otherwise we will wake up one day and there will be no country called Nigeria.”

The Chairman of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr. Pogu Bitrus, also agreed with Atiku, saying the twin economic policies of the current administration of scrapping petrol subsidies and floating the Naira are responsible for the difficulties in the land.

“I am surprised that the presidency would attack Atiku for saying he would have done better with the economy if he was president.

“I don’t know if they would have done better anyway, but the fact remains that the economic policies of the current administration are anti-popular.

“It is not possible that things will be the same with the removal of the subsidy. You can’t do that without proper alternative arrangements like fixing the existing refineries in the country so that at least the importation of fuel stops and expect things not to get tough for the masses.

“If we don’t import fuel, that is if we refine fuel locally, the price would automatically crash and it would also spread to every aspect of people’s lives,” he told DAILY POST.

Also speaking, Abdullahi Fago, an educationist based in Maiduwa Local Government Area of ​​Katsina State, equally agreed with Atiku’s position.

He advised the presidency to focus on ensuring good governance to the people instead of addressing people who express honest opinions about the real state of affairs in the country.

He lamented that there is acute famine in Nigeria; a situation, he said, was made worse by the growing insecurity in the country.

He, however, warned that if the government does not act urgently to stop the trend, it will escalate into something more worrying.

“A stitch in time saves us. The government should do everything possible to avert the looming danger.

“They should not allow the situation to degenerate beyond what is currently on the ground, otherwise what would follow is what no one can accurately imagine,” he warned.

A Lagos-based lawyer and public affairs analyst, Marcellus Onah, equally condemned the Presidency’s reaction to Atiku’s comment, saying “Atiku was just speaking the mind of Nigerians.

“He only states the obvious. Who does not know that the current difficulties were caused by the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the Naira?

“There were so many hopes for this government but unfortunately this is what we are getting. People are suffering.

“People are dying of hunger every day and crime is on the rise due to poverty and lack of legitimate job opportunities, especially for young people.

“My heart bleeds when I see people wandering around unsuccessfully trying to find food for their families,” he said.