Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has berated President Bola Tinubu for attempting to blame the nation’s worsening insecurity and economic challenges on the media and citizens.
On Tuesday, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, accused sections of the Nigerian media of creating an untrue impression that the country is overwhelmed by insecurity.
Speaking on Arise TV, Onanuga said media reports often portray insecurity as if it has engulfed every part of 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.
“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.”
Reacting in a statement issued on by Phrank Shaibu, his senior special assistant on public communication, Atiku stated that the presidency’s remarks blaming citizens for insecurity indicated that Nigerians could only be safe for a limited part 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?” the former vice-president said.
“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.
“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 said.
“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 economy, Atiku accused the administration of Tinubu of being disconnected from the realities facing Nigerians.
“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,” Atiku said.
He lampooned attempts by the presidency to blame the media for reporting on insecurity and economic challenges, stating that journalists were only reporting realities already being faces by citizens.
“Blaming journalists for reporting insecurity and hardship is like blaming a thermometer for a fever,” Atiku said.
