Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that there seems to be concerted efforts to erode the sacrifices made to achieve democracy in Nigeria.
In a Democracy Day statement issued via his X account on Thursday, June 12, Atiku said all eyes were turned to Nigeria for hope following the move to secure democracy for the nation years ago.
He said, “I 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 our political destiny.
“It was a moment of great promise and great sacrifice,” Atiku noted.
While reiterating that painful sacrifices and compromises were made across the African continent, Atiku said Nigerians and their leaders bore the heaviest of this burden.
“They yearned for a new democratic order, and many paid dearly for it. I, too, made my fair share of sacrifices, most notably setting aside my own presidential ambition in deference to the late Chief MKO Abiola, a gesture made in faith and fidelity to a higher national cause.
“But others gave far more. The late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, Tafida Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, and Alfred Rewane; these brave souls gave their lives in pursuit of a freer Nigeria. Their memories are etched into our national conscience and must never be forgotten,” he said.
While the gains of June 12 were not handed to the nation on a platter of gold, Atiku said, its promises which blossomed in 1999 when the military handed over power to a democratically elected leader, are being dismantled.
According to Atiku, Nigeria is currently hanging on the edge of a dangerous precipice while drifting towards a dictatorship system that is gradually replacing its democratic principles.
He lamented that some of the leaders who laid their lives for the nation’s growth and stability expected much from generations after them.
He also accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Federal Government of intent to dominate, subdue, and silence the opposition and the Nigerian populace at large.
“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,” Atiku added.
He stated that what Nigerians are witnessing under the President Bola Tinubu-led administration and the APC is not governance but a conquest.
Atiku said that the present government represents the lowest ebb of Nigeria’s democratic journey since 1999 as institutions have been weaponised against the opposition.
Stating that Nigeria must resolve to choose the path of democratic renewal, the former vice president said it is unfortunate the policies are no longer formulated to empower the people but to control them.
“A struggle to liberate our economy, our democracy, and our dignity from the grip of authoritarian forces. And like every righteous struggle, it demands courage, clarity, and collective resolve.
As long as oppression thrives, June 12 lives on, not just as a memory, but as a movement. The time to rise is now,” he stated.
The article was originally published on Politics Nigeria.
