Atiku: Corruption Has Led Nigeria to Political Instability

Former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar

Former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Monday stated that corruption, nepotism and official impunity had brought the country down to as low as three per cent in the world in terms of political stability.

Atiku, who is eyeing the number one seat in the country, also said: “What we have now in Nigeria is a form of patrimonial democracy.”

Speaking in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Dr. Babalola Borishade who spoke on behalf of the former vice-president, said patrimonial democracy poses serious threats to the durability of democracy.

Borishade, who is the Director General of the Atiku Campaign Organisation, said: “Not only because it erodes civil liberties of citizens, thus creating a culture of political apathy and disenchantment.”

Speaking further, he said for both those who are inside and outside the network, the future is bleak.

He, however, said Nigerians need democracy of substance that will respond to their socio-economic demands as well as bringing about improvements in living conditions.

He said: “Elections should therefore no longer be just about the right to vote but must also provide opportunities to choose between candidates who compete not on primordial sentiments, but on what they will do for Nigerians.”

He therefore, said there was an unmistakable feeling that Nigerians are being subdued on all fronts by crippling economic conditions, high unemployment rates, collapsing infrastructures, pipe-line vandalism, kidnapping and Boko-Haram insurgency.

He added that it was clear that the country was in dire need of a re-evaluation of her political and socio-economic status.

He contended that Nigeria was a one resource economy, stressing that “the substantial portion of the national revenue is controlled by the federal government.

“When this privilege is exercised within a complex patronage system characterized by nepotism, corruption and utter disregard for due process, the nation’s social, political and economic capital cannot be as strong as we are made to believe,” he added.