Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over what he described as the “weaponisation of hunger” through the distribution of food items and palliatives in Northern Nigeria, saying rice cannot equate governance.
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In a statement issued Friday in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku faulted the recent distribution of 100 trucks of rice and ₦1.2 billion in palliatives to northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), an initiative flagged off by the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu.
Atiku described the exercise as “not an act of compassion, but a calculated political performance staged on the altar of mass hardship.”
“What Nigerians are witnessing today is the tragic normalisation of poverty under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the statement read. “Families can no longer afford basic meals, inflation has ravaged household incomes, and millions are being pushed daily into extreme deprivation.”
He argued that rather than addressing the root causes of economic hardship, the government had resorted to what he termed “optics,” accusing it of distributing food “in carefully choreographed ceremonies while the underlying suffering deepens.”
The statement further alleged that since 2023, Northern farmers have faced declining productivity due to insecurity and policy failures, leading to abandoned farmlands and weakened food supply chains.
“Ironically, the same government and its promoters now seek to exploit the resulting hardship by turning food into a campaign tool,” Shaibu said. “What the North truly needs is genuine, sustainable food security policies, not campaign lunch packs wrapped in party insignia.”
Atiku also referenced earlier food distribution efforts involving the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu, during Ramadan in 2025, describing it as a precursor to what he now sees as a broader strategy.
“What was then an experiment has now evolved into a full-blown policy of optics over substance,” the statement added.
The former vice president warned that the trend could have deeper implications for Nigeria’s democracy, arguing that reliance on palliatives risks undermining citizens’ independence.
“Let it be said without equivocation: Nigerians are not beggars to be pacified with periodic handouts while their livelihoods collapse,” he stated.
He maintained that the challenges facing the North, including rising food prices, unemployment, and insecurity require “bold, coherent, and people-centred economic policies,” rather than temporary relief measures.
“These are not problems that can be solved with trucks of rice; they require bold, coherent, and people-centred economic policies,” he said. “A responsible government does not turn hunger into a public relations strategy.”
Atiku concluded by urging Nigerians to reject what he described as “stomach infrastructure politics” and demand leadership focused on long-term prosperity.
“The time has come to demand governance, not gestures,” the statement said.
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