By Abiola Olawale
As Nigeria marks its 65th Independence Day today, October 1, 2025, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar criticised President Bola Tinubu’s leadership, accusing him of abandoning the people.
Atiku described the nation as a “giant moving painfully slow on the feet of clay,” blaming decades of mismanagement and what he called the current government’s indifference.
In his Independence Day message, Atiku praised the resilience of Nigerians but accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration of fostering insecurity, hunger and hopelessness.
This was contained in a statement posted on X, where Atiku, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alleged that despite Nigeria’s abundant human and natural resources, millions had been reduced to refugees and beggars in their own country under the present leadership.
Atiku said: “Hunger is killing Nigerians, bandits are massacring communities, yet President Tinubu and his cabinet stand by, unmoved and uncaring.
“Every responsible government holds the welfare and security of its citizens as supreme. But what we have today is an administration that has abandoned its people.
“Oppressed and battered as our people may feel today, they will have the chance to sweep away this inept government at the next polls. That is a power no cabal can take away from the people.
“At 65, Nigeria remains a giant moving painfully slow on the feet of clay, a direct result of decades of poor leadership and wasteful governance.”
