Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has stated that President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are not interested in providing democratic dividends but in conquering political opponents.
Recalling the sacrifices made during the June 12 struggle, including his own decision to step aside for the late MKO Abiola, Atiku lamented that the ideals for which many died—including Kudirat Abiola, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, and Alfred Rewane—are being eroded by the present administration.
He said that Nigeria’s democracy is creeping into authoritarianism, elite cronyism, and institutional subversion under Tinubu.
The Waziri Adamawa said that he was privileged to be an active participant in that defining chapter, which culminated in a historic election that captured the imagination of the world and reshaped Nigeria’s political destiny, adding “It was a moment of great promise and great sacrifice”.
In his Democracy message posted on his official X handle on Thursday, Atiku warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over dismantling the democratic foundations, saying that such moves runs contrary to the spirit of June 12, 1993.
While described the present administration as one that governs with the intent to dominate, subdue, and silence, adding that Nigeria is teetering on the edge of a “dangerous precipice” Atiku said,
“The ruling party and its federal government now govern with the unmistakable intent to dominate, subdue, and silence.
“Their tactics are not subtle. Opposition voices are being systematically erased. Contracts for multi-billion-naira infrastructure are funnelled to cronies and family associates of the president. National institutions, once symbols of unity, are being brazenly renamed in honour of a sitting president, as though the country were a private estate. What we are witnessing is not governance, it is conquest.
“This government represents the lowest ebb in our democratic journey. Institutions have been weaponized. Policies are crafted not to empower the people but to entrench fear, obedience, and control. The common Nigerian has been abandoned at the altar of elite comfort. And make no mistake: this is the antithesis of everything June 12 stands for.”
He emphasised that the battle for Nigeria’s democratic soul has reached another critical juncture, calling for a united opposition front not driven by the pursuit of power, but by a moral duty to rescue the country from despotism.
“This is not just a political contest; it is a moral crusade,” Atiku said, urging Nigerians to rise in defence of democracy, justice, and national dignity.
“As long as oppression thrives, June 12 lives on, not just as memory, but as movement,” he concluded.
