INDEPENDENCE DAY BOMBSHELL: ATIKU URGES NIGERIANS TO “SWEEP AWAY TINUBU’S INEPT GOVERNMENT” AT NEXT POLLS

Former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has delivered a blistering Independence Day message, charging Nigerians to rescue the nation from what he described as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s “inept and uncaring government” at the next general elections.

In a fiery statement issued on Tuesday, October 1, 2025, to commemorate Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary, Atiku lamented that despite the nation’s enormous wealth and abundant human capital, Nigerians have been reduced to poverty, insecurity, and despair under Tinubu’s watch.

> “It is tragic that in a country blessed with immense resources, millions of our people have been reduced to refugees and beggars in their fatherland. Every responsible government holds the welfare and security of its citizens as supreme,” Atiku declared.

He accused Tinubu’s administration of abandoning its primary duty of securing lives and livelihoods, insisting that hunger, joblessness, and banditry now define the Nigerian condition.

> “Hunger is killing Nigerians, bandits are massacring communities, yet President Tinubu and his cabinet stand by, unmoved and uncaring. This government has failed its people,” Atiku fumed.

The former Vice President urged citizens not to lose faith in democracy, stressing that the ultimate power lies in their hands at the ballot box.

> “The beauty of democracy lies in the power of the ballot. Oppressed and battered as our people may feel today, they will have the chance to sweep away this inept government at the next polls. That is the power no cabal can take away from the people,” he asserted.

Reflecting on Nigeria’s 65-year journey since independence, Atiku likened the nation to a “giant moving painfully slow on feet of clay”, blaming decades of bad leadership and wasteful governance. Yet, he struck a note of hope, insisting that with visionary leadership, Nigeria can still rise from the ruins of failed governance to reclaim its place in the world.

Banditry in Kwara: Atiku raises alarm

Beyond his national address, Atiku also expressed deep concern over the spate of killings in Kwara State, particularly the gruesome attack on Oke-Ode where vigilantes and the traditional ruler of Ogbayo community were slain by rampaging bandits.

> “The tempo of armed attacks in parts of Kwara, and indeed across the country, is alarming. I call on security agencies and policy makers not to let the map of insecurity fester. Our people must not be left at the mercy of a raging dark army of criminals,” he urged.

As Nigerians reflect on six-and-a-half decades of independence, Atiku’s message resonates as both an indictment of Tinubu’s government and a rallying cry for political change. With hardship biting harder and insecurity festering, the ADC chieftain is positioning himself as the voice of opposition, keeping alive the hope of what he calls a “new dawn” for the Nigerian people.