NIGERIA @ 65: EMPTY PROMISES, HARSH REALITIES, ATIKU’S AIDE FAULTS TINUBU’S SPEECH
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By Sunmisola Shodayo
Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has launched a fierce critique of President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day national address, dismissing his assertions of advancement as “hollow rhetoric separated from the everyday challenges faced by Nigerians. ”
In a statement released shortly after the President’s address, Shaibu cautioned that while Tinubu portrayed an image of resilience and reform, the average Nigerian is grappling with hunger, insecurity, and despondency.
“The yam may be plentiful, but if the pot is empty, the stomach still rumbles. Today, Nigeria’s pot is not only empty but cracked, and the people remain hungry” he proclaimed.
In his broadcast, President Tinubu highlighted the growth of educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and economic reforms. However, the citizens’ rebuttal came with incisive proverbs, asserting that classrooms remain empty, hospitals are lacking fundamental resources, and the public fails to experience the effects of the purported reforms.
“A man who constructs numerous huts without roofs has only provided shelter for goats,” the statement remarked, indicating that while the administration boasts about infrastructure, students still learn on bare ground and patients must furnish their own lighting and medication prior to receiving care.
Shaibu also depicted a bleak reality of daily existence, pointing out that while food prices have surged, transportation expenses have diminished wages, leaving millions of households struggling to afford a single meal.
“If these are the seeds of reform, then the fruit is undeniably bitter. When the roof is ablaze, it is foolish to claim that the rain has extinguished it,” Shaibu wrote.
While President Tinubu commended the armed forces, the statement asserted that Nigerians remain in peril. Banditry, abduction, and theft persist unchecked.
The statement cited the tragic murder of Somtochukwu Maduagwu, a young news anchor for Arise TV, in a robbery just this week as evidence that “no one – not even the voices that deliver our news – is secure in today’s Nigeria. ”
“A farmer cannot claim that the bush is cleared while weeds continue to suffocate his yam,” it added.
The former Vice President’s aide criticized the government’s rhetoric on youth empowerment, accusing leaders of delivering vacuous promises while young graduates are compelled to accept menial jobs or roadside endeavors to survive.
“You cannot instruct a child to aspire greatly while you pilfer the mat he rests upon,” the statement asserted.
At 65, Nigeria, in his view, should not be commemorating statistics or rehearsing speeches but confronting the harsh realities of poverty, insecurity, and dysfunctional systems.
“A masquerade does not clap for itself; it is the crowd that cheers when the steps are sweet. Nigerians are not clapping, because the music they hear is hunger, insecurity and despair.
“Independence anniversaries are moments of sober reflection, not self-praise. Nigeria is 65 years old. But our leaders still serve promises as though they were meals. The yam is there, but the pot remains empty”, Shaibu declared.” Shaibu declared.
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