Atiku Formally Declares Presidential Ambition, Says Nigeria on Auto Pilot

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines Wednesday, September 24th, 2014

By Our Correspondents

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has summed up the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and concluded that the country seems to be on an auto pilot with no one in charge.

Atiku Abubakar

The former number two citizen stated this in Abuja, the Nigerian Capital Wednesday, when he formally declared to run for the position of the president under the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC.

Abukakar noted that under Jonathan watch, the ship of state has drifted and things fell apart.

He said the failure of Jonathan to live up to the expectation of Nigerians reinforced the need for change adding that he represented the change the country needed at the moment.

His words ” A number of major manufacturers have divested from Nigeria and relocated to neighbouring countries while those that remain operate at far below their installed capacity due mainly to poor infrastructure. The environment for doing business, and our ranking in world competitiveness index have worsened.

“Therefore, job opportunities for our teeming youth have become harder to come by. We recall with sadness the avoidable deaths of job seekers during the poorly organized so-called Immigration Service recruitment exam just last year. Up to this moment no one has been held accountable for those needless deaths.

“On human development, our infant and maternal mortality, and poverty and illiteracy levels continue to be embarrassingly high. Thus, while countries such as Ghana, Gabon and Botswana are classified by the UNDP as being at the Medium Human Development Level, Nigeria is grouped with those at the Low Human Development Level.

“This situation reinforces the urgent need for change. We cannot continue down this path of national decline”.

According to him “Resentment, disillusionment and hopelessness are the emotions on which insecurity and disharmony thrive. Our country is more divided today than at any other time since the civil war.

“There is a disturbing rise in ethnic nationalism and religious bigotry. This is promoting social tension and mutual distrust amongst the people of Nigeria.

” All over the country, there are daily breaches of security resulting in loss of lives and properties. Armed robbery, kidnappings and human trafficking continue to ravage many parts of the country.

“A bunch of extremist insurgents are hoisting strange flags on large areas of our territory that they claim to have conquered. Unspeakable horrors are now being committed daily against our people by anti-social elements in the name of religion and other causes.

Abubakar lamented that though Government has a responsibility to do everything possible to halt the on-going dehumanization of Nigerians ” Unfortunately what we have is a serious governance deficit. To put it bluntly, our country seems to be on auto pilot with no one in charge”.