NIGERIA: Atiku Faults Tinubu Over Three-Week European Trip, Says Nigeria Needs Leadership At Home

By Onoja Baba

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his decision to embark on a three-week trip to Europe, arguing that the country is facing serious economic and security challenges that require the President’s presence at home.

Atiku, in a statement posted on Sunday, said Nigeria might not be facing a constitutional vacuum, but was experiencing what he described as a “disturbing vacuum of political leadership.”

The former Vice President acknowledged that he had travelled, lived and spent time abroad, but maintained that there was a fundamental difference between the travels of a private citizen and those of a sitting President.

He questioned Tinubu’s decision to spend three weeks in Europe amid what he described as worsening hardship across the country.

According to Atiku, Nigerians are struggling with high petrol prices, rising food costs and transport fares, while insecurity continues to claim lives across the country.

He also noted that Vice President Kashim Shettima was already outside the country on official duty, making the President’s decision to travel abroad even more difficult to understand.

Atiku argued that leadership was not merely about occupying a constitutional office but also about exercising the judgment to recognise when the country requires the President’s presence.

Using a family analogy, the former Vice President said a father could travel when everything was in order, but would not leave for the airport when his family was trapped inside a burning house.

He stressed that his criticism was not based on the belief that a President should never travel or take time to rest, but rather that the current circumstances in Nigeria demanded greater attention from the President.

“At the heart of this issue is that Nigeria is burning, and the President has chosen a boarding pass over the fire extinguisher,” Atiku said.

He further accused the Tinubu administration of imposing hardship on millions of Nigerians, saying citizens were struggling to afford basic movement while the President continued to travel.

Atiku also argued that a government unable to understand the hardship experienced by citizens would lack the political will to address it.

The former Vice President concluded by contrasting his economic promise with the current administration, saying, “Tinubu made Nigeria expensive. I will make Nigeria affordable again.”