Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar has criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu for what he described as attempts to shift responsibility for Nigeria’s worsening insecurity and economic challenges onto the media and ordinary citizens.

Atiku’s remarks followed comments made by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, who accused sections of the Nigerian media of creating a false impression that insecurity had engulfed the entire country.

Speaking on Arise Television on Tuesday, Onanuga argued that media reports often exaggerate the scale of insecurity in Nigeria.
“The problem is that the media in Nigeria are even creating the problem. The way they’re reporting security is as if the entire country is consumed,” he said.

While acknowledging that incidents of kidnapping and attacks remain a concern, Onanuga noted that many such incidents occur at night despite warnings from security agencies against travelling after dark.

“Any time I read about either kidnapping or an attack somewhere, sometimes I look at the time. I say, wow, it happened at 8 p.m., it happened at 9 p.m., sometimes 1 a.m. A long time ago, the police told people to stop travelling at night,” he said.

Reacting in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku questioned the implication of the presidency’s position, arguing that it appeared to suggest that Nigerians could only be safe during limited hours of the day.

“Is the presidency admitting that Nigerians can only be safe for a few hours of the day? Is this an official declaration that Africa’s largest economy has been reduced to an eight-hour economy where citizens must shut down their businesses, abandon legitimate travel, and retreat indoors once the sun sets?” he asked.

The former vice-president maintained that the responsibility for guaranteeing the safety of citizens rests squarely with government and security agencies, not with individuals carrying out lawful activities.

“The primary duty of any government is the protection of lives and property. Citizens do not surrender their freedoms in exchange for curfews imposed by fear,” he said.

Atiku argued that the prevalence of insecurity across the country could not be dismissed as media exaggeration, insisting that Nigerians experience the challenges firsthand in their daily lives.

“A trader travelling from Kano to Lagos, a businessman returning from Abuja to Kaduna, a farmer transporting produce to market, or a family embarking on a legitimate journey should not be blamed when criminals attack them. The blame belongs squarely where it should — on those charged with securing the country,” he stated.

He further warned that normalising insecurity by advising citizens to restrict their movements after certain hours could have far-reaching consequences for economic activities and national productivity.

“A nation cannot prosper when its people are told that safety ends at sunset. Economies grow because people can move freely, trade freely, and conduct lawful activities without fear,” Atiku said.

On the state of the economy, the former Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate accused the Tinubu administration of being disconnected from the realities confronting Nigerians.

According to him, rising food prices, persistent inflation, unemployment and declining purchasing power have continued to deepen hardship for millions of households across the country.

“The father who goes to bed wondering how to provide the next meal for his family does not need a newspaper report to confirm hardship,” he said.

Atiku also criticised attempts by the presidency to fault the media for reporting on insecurity and economic difficulties, insisting that journalists were merely reflecting realities already being experienced by citizens.

“Blaming journalists for reporting insecurity and hardship is like blaming a thermometer for a fever,” he said.

He added that Nigerians were more interested in practical solutions than explanations for the country’s challenges.
“Nigeria does not need explanations for suffering. Nigeria needs solutions. Nigeria does not need lectures about perception. Nigeria needs results,” Atiku said.