Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for embarking on a three-week vacation in Europe amid the economic hardship and security challenges confronting Nigerians.
The Presidency announced on Sunday, August 30, that Tinubu had departed Abuja for Europe to commence a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave.
Reacting in a statement posted on social media, Atiku questioned the timing of the President’s trip, citing the rising cost of petrol, food insecurity, soaring transport fares and worsening insecurity across the country.
Atiku said Nigeria might not be facing a constitutional vacuum, but was experiencing what he described as “a disturbing vacuum of political leadership.”
He stressed that while he had travelled and lived abroad as a private citizen, the circumstances were different for a sitting President, whose responsibilities required him to remain sensitive to the situation in the country.
“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,” he said.
The ADC presidential candidate also questioned the decision to travel while Vice President Kashim Shettima is abroad on official duties.
“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,” Atiku said.
He compared the President’s decision to that of a father who leaves his family behind while his home is on fire.
“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,” he added.
Atiku further argued that millions of Nigerians were struggling to cope with the rising cost of living while the President was away from the country.
“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,” he said.
He concluded by accusing the government of failing to adequately appreciate the hardship experienced by Nigerians.
“A government that cannot feel the pain it inflicts will never summon the will to end it,” Atiku said.
