PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Vice president Atiku Abubakar said the quality of democracy and behaviour of political actors betrays the ideas of those who fought and died for democracy in Nigeria .

Atiku who stated this while delivering a keynote address at the democracy day dialogue organized by the Coalition Political Action Committee (COPAC) commended Nigerians for not abandoning the promises of June ,12 ; freedom, prosperity and the right to choose leaders who will serve them.

Atiku expressed concerns that despite ravaging insecurity ,only 7.11 percent of the country’s defense budget has been accessed ,stressing that democracy has not yet translated into prosperity.

He said : “The cost of living crisis has exploded into an unbearable burden that is crushing ordinary families . Fuel ,good, transport and medicine have become luxuries that few Nigerian’s can afford .

“Food insecurity has become synonymous with our daily reality . The statistics are staggering and the warnings of impending hardship now haunt millions . Farms lie fallow ,markers stand empty and for too many of our people have grown accustomed to going to bed hungry in a country that cannot even guarantee their safety.”

Atiku said youth unemployment has reached epidemic proportions and has condemed Nigerian’s brightest talents to idleness and despair ,consequently driving an unprecedented wave of brain drain and forced migration .

“I wish you a happy Democracy Day, in the shared conviction that — as the creed of our party, the ADC, reminds us — Nigeria will arise and shine again.
Yet even as we celebrate the ideals of freedom, transparent governance, and social justice, we must confront the bitter truth about our democratic reality under the present administration.

“We hold elections periodically, but seventy per cent of Nigerians do not believe those exercises reflect their wishes or allow them to vote out bad government. We possess democratic institutions, yet too many of them appear weaponised against the very people 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.

“Nigeria’s standing — regional, continental, and global — has plummeted. Once the powerhouse of Africa, we are now merely tolerated and too frequently sidelined on the world stage. The days when Nigeria sat confidently at the table are fast becoming a memory.

“Corruption thrives with impunity, almost as though it were a national sport. National unity is threatened by narrow, parochial interests. Our democratic structures, systems, and institutions are suffering an erosion whose malignancy has spread to every segment of our bleeding society.

Most heartbreaking of all is the mounting insecurity that has turned parts of our country into a land of terror, bloodletting, and mourning. Our citizens are cut down by the day in this senseless tide of violence. Our brave but overstretched military and security agencies bear the brunt of our collective failure to support them — with sustainable policies, with the vital non-kinetic instruments of this war, and with the resources this fight demands. 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. Insecurity now threatens the very fabric of cohesion that any nation must rely upon to build its future.

Since this administration came into office, a painful pattern has hardened into something close to normality: wave after wave of abductions, ransom, and killing, carried out with ever greater audacity. Unchecked criminality pervades our land, and terrorism has taken root and continues to spread. This escalating violence has turned our citadels of learning into places of fear. Our children — the very future of Nigeria — are paying the heaviest price for a failure of leadership.

My fellow Nigerians, to the question so often asked — are the lives of ordinary citizens better today than when President Tinubu took office? — the honest answer for millions is unmistakable: we are far worse off than we were, and no amount of economic narrative can disguise it. This is the painful reality that must change.

We need a President who is truly patriotic and genuinely empathetic; who understands the struggles and suffering of our citizens, and who carries the experience and the solutions to confront them.”

He continued, “We need a President who can balance pragmatism with principle, who knows the difference between politics and governance, and who understands a simple truth: insecurity is not defeated with press releases and platitudes. It is confronted and defeated head-on — with implementable budgets, sound policy, commitment, consistency, engagement, accountability, empathy, drive, and justice.

Our nation deserves a committed Commander-in-Chief who will never neglect his most sacred constitutional duty: the protection of the lives and property of the citizens of Nigeria. My fellow citizens, this can never be the democracy that our founding fathers and our heroes believed in, fought for, and died for.

I, Atiku Abubakar, your presidential candidate on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, stand before you as a true democrat in every sense of the word. I have won and I have lost; I have sacrificed and known defeat many times, yet I remain undefeated in my faith in the democratic order. I am a believer in the unity of our diverse nation. I am a leader who knows this country intimately, loves it deeply, and embraces its people without apology. I have ties to every part of this land, and I understand, embrace, and celebrate our unity, our diversity, and our shared challenges.

“The task I seek is not merely to name our problems or to apportion blame for them. I offer a genuine and proven alternative — a path of competence, compassion, integrity, and decisive action. I offer a new direction, and a clean departure from failure.

Together — you and I — we will confront insecurity decisively. We will take back our country, downgrade insurgency and banditry, secure our schools, protect our communities, and enable our farmers to feed the nation without fear. We offer action, not excuses; and we are ready to shoulder this daunting task, whatever it may demand.

An ADC federal government will bring the cost-of-living crisis to an end through urgent, practical interventions that restore dignity to the hardworking and innovative citizens of our country. We will secure our food supply, and we will tackle wage stagnation in realistic ways and on credible timelines.

Abroad, we will restore Nigeria’s pride and stature as the leader of our sub-region, a leader on our continent, and a respected power in the wider world — through a confident foreign policy that places Nigeria’s best interests at the centre of every international engagement. At home, we will restore dignity to our institutions by guaranteeing a truly independent legislature and judiciary, an independent INEC and Central Bank, and security agencies that are properly funded and equipped. We will reclaim our institutions so that they function as democracy intends — offering checks and balances, protecting the guardrails of democratic practice, and safeguarding the freedom of every Nigerian to speak, to dissent, and to thrive.

“This is my solemn covenant with you. We are pregnant with a new Nigeria, one that will be born come May of next year: a nation where hope is not a slogan, but a living, breathing, and achievable reality.

My fellow countrymen and women, let this Democracy Day mark the beginning of our collective turning point. Let us raise our voices against the steady retreat of democratic practice. Let us stand firm against every attempt to silence the opposition and to criminalise those who demand accountability. Let us resist the pain of state capture, and embrace a new dawn driven by the power of the people. Let us choose unity over division, competence over excuses, and genuine leadership in 2027.

“We are ready to reclaim our country, to rebuild our institutions, to protect our children, to carry nation-building beyond rhetoric, to heal our fault-lines, and to reunite our people into one secure, prosperous, and just nation — the nation we all deserve.

“I am Atiku Abubakar. I am tested. I believe in you, I believe in us, and I am fully aware that the stewardship I seek is delegated by the Nigerian people, exercised on their behalf and solely in their interest. Together, with your endorsement and your vote, we can make this work”.