2019 Not Successful Year For Nigerians – Atiku

A former vice president and the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, says he doesn’t share the sentiment of those who claim that 2019 was a successful year for Nigerians.

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, was the People's Democratic Party Presidential Candidate, in the 2019 general elections / Photo credit: Sahara Reporters
Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, was the People's Democratic Party Presidential Candidate, in the 2019 general elections / Photo credit: Sahara Reporters

A former vice president and the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has said that 2019 is not a successful year for Nigerians.

Atiku, who stated in a Facebook post on Tuesday, said Nigeria was still in the throes of economic instability and poverty.

He, however, noted that 2020 provided another opportunity for the country to overcome security challenge and tackle poverty.

He said, “The coming of the New Year 2020 is symbolic in many ways. First, it heralds a brand new decade. Secondly, and probably more important, is that this New Year will require us all to stay together more than ever before to take on, head front, the common enemy of insecurity that challenge our everyday lives as Nigerians.

“I do not share the sentiment when some people claim that the outgone 2019 was a successful year for Nigerians. Such sentiments is reductionist and does the harm of making us have a false sense of victory.

The bitter truth is that Nigeria is still in the throes of economic instability, with more people losing jobs and the attendant outcome of more children being out of school and more families having hard time in accessing basic needs of life.”

While urging Nigerians to stand together in support for rule of law and to ensure that insecurity and poverty is addressed, Atiku added, “We must challenge the inadequacies that made us become the global headquarters of extreme poverty; much as we must work hard and fast enough to eliminate the scourge of out-of-school children in the country. These are the challenges that this new decade has thrown at us and we cannot afford to slumber and submit to defeat.

“The problems of extreme poverty and scant investments in education play huge roles in fueling the problems of violent extremism that we spent the past decade contending with. We cannot win the fight against terrorism if we do nothing to reduce or eliminate poverty and illiteracy.”

The Interview Editors

Written by The Interview Editors

The Interview is a niche publication, targeting leaders and aspiring leaders in business, politics, entertainment, sports, arts, the professions and others within society’s upper middle class and high-end segment in Nigeria.