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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that Nigerian democracy is yet to translate to prosperity for the citizens, 27 years after the end of military rule.
Atiku stated this at a Democracy Day Convening, organized by the Coalition Political Action Committee (COPAC), a civic and political engagement platform affiliated with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Friday, in Abuja.
The former Vice President, who was represented by former chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, said while citizens celebrate of freedom, transparent governance and social justice, they must confront the unsavoury truth about democratic reality under the present administration.
According to him, while the country holds periodic elections, seventy percent of Nigerians do not believe that those exercises reflect their wishes or afford them opportunities to vote out bad government. He added that many of the democratic institutions are allegedly weaponised against the citizens they were created to protect.
“We have a robust politics, but governance is plainly absent. We celebrate democracy, while a hollowed-out version is served to us daily — marked by constitutional overreach, creeping illiberalism, and a stubborn refusal to submit to the checks of accountability.
“Our ambitious annual budgets have become rituals honoured more in the breach than in the observance. At a time when our country faces the gravest security challenge in its history, only 7.11 per cent of the defence budget has been accessed. Democracy, sadly, has not translated into prosperity.
“The cost-of-living crisis has exploded into an unbearable burden that is crushing ordinary families. Fuel, food, transport, and medicine have become luxuries that few Nigerians can afford,” he said.
Atiku, who is also the ADC 2027 presidential candidate, while decrying the escalating insecurity in the country, noted that citizens are killed daily in a spate of violence.
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“Under President Tinubu’s watch, we have lost gallant generals, soldiers, and other security personnel in the struggle against insurgency and banditry.
Today we mourn the dedicated teachers who have been murdered or taken hostage, caught in the cross-hairs of a conflict that seems to defy every solution.
“We remember the innocent schoolchildren snatched from their classrooms and communities across the country — some killed, many still held in captivity — while their parents wait, hope, and pray for a deliverance that does not come,” he stated.
The former Vice President, who stated that the ADC, if voted into power, will tackle insecurity, bring down the cost of living, among others, implored Nigerians to ” choose unity over division, competence over excuses, and genuine leadership in 2027.”
Earlier, the Convener, COPAC, Aminu Datti Ahmad, said the organization believes that the country needs a strong, credible, disciplined, and forward-looking political alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to him, “We believe that democracy is healthiest when citizens are presented with genuine choices. And we believe that the ADC has a historic role to play in building the Nigeria that our people deserve.”
He added “However, COPAC exists for a purpose that extends beyond party politics alone. Our mission is to help build the democratic culture necessary for political success and national renewal. We seek to mobilize citizens, encourage participation, develop leadership, strengthen democratic engagement, and create a platform through which ideas can be transformed into action.”
