The immediate past National Vice Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Salihu Lukman, has emptied venom on former President Muhammadu Buhari and his successor, President Bola Tinubu, accusing them of being responsible for Nigeria’s continued economic crisis.
Lukman, since leaving the APC leadership, has turned quite vocal in his criticism. He expressed disappointment in their leadership and warned of a serious prospect of defeat waiting for the party in the 2027 elections if drastic measures were not taken.
In his statement last Saturday, Lukman hinged his attack: “By any standard, both President Tinubu and the APC have failed Nigerians.
He sent an angle of disappointment to many who all had believed in the party for change; Lukman observed that the party came into power in 2015 with very ambitious programs toward addressing the economic challenges, insecurity, and corruption that confronted the country.
Call for Accountability
Lukman insisted that Nigerians must demand accountability from APC and called on the citizens to do more than just voting the party out in 2027, but ensuring that the successor administration has the political will to implement genuine reforms.
He attacked the opposition parties for their failure to put their acts together in contesting APC, stating that what had apparently prevented the presentation of any decent contest against the ruling APC is the inability of opposition parties to get their act together.
He said the APC has blown every available opportunity that could have made its promises come true, with the result that Nigeria has been plunged into worse economic and security nightmares than when Buhari came into office in 2015. Lukman said the current state of affair in Nigeria, under President Tinubu, remains far worse than it was under Buhari’s administration, adding that President Tinubu has kept in step with the failures of his predecessor.
He said in his appeal, “opposition leaders are conscious of their personal ambition, as well as collective objective of rescuing Nigeria from the current challenges facing the country.
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At this point, it is important to appeal to our key opposition leaders to wake up and try to be compassionate and appreciate the gravity of the dire situation facing citizens,” he added.
He went further to point out that the democratic system offers citizens the chance to do away with any government that has reneged on their promises and hoped Nigerians would make do with such an opportunity come 2027.
However, he held that it was not just a matter of APC being changed. He urged Nigerians to raise their expectations of leaders to ensure that those elected into offices are held accountable for the actions they engage in.
Lukman concluded by recognizing that many supporters of Buhari and Tinubu never imagined that they would bring about such dismal results. “Certainly, all of us who were actively in support of these leaders never imagined that they would be such colossal failures,” he lamented.
Moving Forward for Nigerians
These comments by Lukman are evidence of the growing discontent within APC as former loyalists now find their voice to speak against their dissatisfaction with the party.
With the 2027 elections drawing nearer, it is left to be seen how APC will respond to such criticisms and whether it will be successful in trying to regain confidence among the Nigerian people.
Well, for now, his message seems clear enough: while the need for change has to be effected, Nigerians should ensure this does not perpetuate the same old mistakes.
