Atiku Raises Alarm Over Insecurity, Economy Ahead Of US Visit

Atiku warns insecurity and economic decline deepen as he prepares US visit, says Nigeria faces serious governance challenges.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has declared that his forthcoming engagement with policy and institutional stakeholders in the United States would be driven by one overriding concern: the deterioration of security, governance, and economic stability in Nigeria.

Atiku stated that Nigeria was facing a full-blown internal crisis, one that could no longer be downplayed, politicised, or explained away.

From the ravaging violence in the North-West and North-East, to the persistent bloodshed in the Middle Belt, and the growing spread of kidnapping and criminality across the country, Atiku warned that the Nigerian state was steadily losing its grip on its most fundamental responsibility, which was the protection of lives and property.

According to him, the situation has moved beyond isolated incidents to a pattern of systemic failure.

“Communities are being overrun, livelihoods destroyed, and citizens abandoned to their fate,” he said, arguing that any government that could not guarantee basic security forfeits the moral basis of its mandate.

In a statement by his media aide, Paul Ibe, the he pointed to the deepening economic hardship confronting Nigerians, describing it as both severe and avoidable.

He noted that rising inflation, a weakened currency, and collapsing purchasing power had pushed millions into distress, while policy inconsistency and lack of strategic direction continued to erode confidence in the economy.

”Nigerians are not just tired, they are being stretched to the limits of endurance,” he said.

Atiku further raised concerns about the state of Nigeria’s democratic institutions, warning that declining public confidence in governance, accountability, and the electoral process posed a direct threat to national stability.

As the country moved toward another election cycle, he insisted that any attempt to undermine transparency or manipulate outcomes would carry serious consequences for both unity and legitimacy.

Addressing the anticipated criticism of his international engagement, Atiku said, “telling the truth about Nigeria is not unpatriotic.”

He rejected the notion that engaging global partners amounted to inviting foreign interference, stressing that Nigeria did not exist in isolation and could not pretend that its internal failures had no external implications.

He maintained that the world already saw what was happening, but added that the real question was whether Nigerian leaders were prepared to confront it honestly.

He reiterated that only Nigerians would decide Nigeria’s leadership, but insisted that international partners have a legitimate interest in the stability, governance standards, and democratic health of a country as strategically important as Nigeria.

According to him, responsible leadership does not hide from scrutiny, it welcomes it as a pathway to improvement.

In a direct message to the current administration, Atiku warned against complacency and deflection, stating that power as not an entitlement but a responsibility, and that Nigerians expected results, not explanations.

He called on the government to urgently reset its priorities, restore public confidence, and demonstrate a clear, credible strategy for addressing insecurity

To Nigerians, he delivered a blunt reminder, saying no nation survives in silence. He urged citizens to remain vigilant, engaged, and unyielding in their demand for accountability, emphasising that real change would not come from outside the country but from the collect