You Called Nigeria a Cancer Patient, Why Has She Not Healed? Atiku Challenges Tinubu
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Tinubu over his description of Nigeria as a cancer patient, asking why the country remains in severe economic pain after three years of his administration.
Atiku spoke on Thursday in Abuja during a world press conference held as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary.
President Tinubu had, in his Independence Day address, likened Nigeria’s condition to that of a cancer patient, using the analogy to explain the difficult economic reforms being implemented by his administration.
But Atiku questioned the results of the treatment, pointing to the growing difficulty many Nigerians face in paying for food, medicine and transportation.
“Bola, you called Nigeria a patient with cancer. After three years of your treatment, why is it harder for Nigerians to buy food, pay for medicine, or even get to work?” Atiku asked.
He also questioned why government revenue could be rising while ordinary Nigerians were finding it increasingly difficult to afford basic necessities.
According to Atiku, when a patient complains about worsening pain during treatment, a doctor should listen rather than dismiss the complaint or describe the patient as unwilling to recover.
“You said Nigerians must endure the pain because you are curing the disease, but when a patient cries out, a doctor listens,” he said.
Atiku argued that Nigerians struggling to meet their basic needs should not be presented as evidence that the government’s economic programme is succeeding.
“A patient who cannot afford to live is not proof that the treatment is working. Absolutely not,” he said.
He also criticised the Tinubu administration for discussing Nigeria’s present difficulties without acknowledging the role of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which had governed the country for eight years before Tinubu became President.
“And you cannot speak as though you arrived from the moon in 2023,” Atiku said.
He maintained that if Nigeria was already as troubled as the President’s cancer analogy suggested, the ruling party should also account for its years in government before the current administration.
Atiku’s comments came as the political opposition continues to challenge the Tinubu administration over the impact of its economic policies, particularly on the cost of living and the purchasing power of Nigerians.
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