Atiku Slams Tinubu's European Trip Amidst Nigeria's 'Burning' Challenges

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who contested the presidency under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) banner, has openly criticized President Bola Tinubu's choice to embark on a three-week vacation at a time when Nigeria is described as being in a state of severe crisis.

On Sunday, August 30, the Presidency had announced that President Tinubu departed Abuja for Europe to commence his annual leave, expected to last three weeks. In response, Atiku took to social media, expressing his displeasure with the President's travels, especially as Nigerians grapple with escalating petrol prices, widespread food insecurity, increasing transport fares, and a worsening national security situation.

He drew a poignant analogy, likening President Tinubu's decision to travel at this critical juncture to a father abandoning his family while their home is engulfed in flames. Atiku's full statement read:

“Nigeria may not be facing a constitutional vacuum today, but there is a disturbing vacuum of political leadership. I have travelled, lived and spent time abroad, and I have never pretended otherwise. But there is a fundamental difference between the travels of a private citizen and the responsibility of the sitting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Consider what Bola Tinubu is leaving behind. Petrol priced beyond the reach of ordinary people. Families rationing food. Transport fares that have turned a journey to one’s own village into a luxury. Insecurity that buries Nigerians week after week. And in the middle of all this, President Tinubu has packed his bags for three weeks in Europe. The Vice President is abroad on official duty. That makes the President’s decision even more difficult to understand. Leadership is not merely the constitutional right to occupy an office; it is the judgment to know when your country needs you at home. A father may travel when all is well. But when his roof is burning and his family is trapped inside, he does not pick up his suitcase and head for the airport. That is the issue here. It is not that a President must never rest or travel. It is that Nigeria is burning, and the President has chosen a boarding pass over the fire extinguisher. Millions of Nigerians are being grounded by hardship while their President is airborne. The people can barely afford to move, but the President keeps moving. A government that cannot feel the pain it inflicts will never summon the will to end it.”