Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) delivered a scathing assessment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration on June 12, 2026, declaring that democracy has failed to improve the lives of ordinary Nigerians and that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has no solution to the country’s worsening security crisis and economic hardship.
In an open letter to Nigerians titled “When Is Democracy?” issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC challenged citizens to assess whether they are safer, more prosperous, or more confident in government than in the past. “Twenty-seven years after the return to democratic rule, and three years into the administration of President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress, we ask you these simple questions: Is your life better today than in the past? Do you feel safer today than you felt in the past? Do you trust the government more than before? The answer to these questions is no doubt painfully clear: a resounding no,” the party said.
The opposition party accused the APC-led government of presiding over worsening insecurity, economic hardship, and declining public trust in democratic institutions. According to the ADC, insecurity has reached alarming levels across the country, with citizens increasingly exposed to violence, kidnappings, and criminality. “Every single day, Nigerians are killed in their dozens and kidnapped in their hundreds. Bandits and other criminal elements openly negotiate for ransoms and set the terms of co-existence,” the party said. “The most important job of a government is to protect the citizens. But is there any one of you today who believes that this government can protect anybody?”
The ADC also painted a bleak picture of the economy, saying millions of Nigerians are struggling under a severe cost-of-living crisis driven by rising prices of food, transportation, housing, healthcare, and education. “Workers watch their incomes lose value. Small businesses struggle to survive. Parents make impossible choices between feeding their families, paying school fees, and meeting basic household needs,” the statement read. The party further lamented the plight of young Nigerians, saying many have been left without meaningful employment opportunities while others are increasingly seeking opportunities abroad.
“This APC government has no solution to insecurity. All they have is condolence messages and empty threats to bandits and criminals. They have no solution to the cost of living crisis that is taking away your dignity. All they have is propaganda and more promises of a better life in the future,” Abdullahi said. The ADC accused the government of asking Nigerians to endure hardship while failing to provide practical solutions to the country’s pressing challenges, describing the current state of the nation as a “Hobbesian reality” where insecurity has forced families to abandon villages and schools, while citizens struggle to survive amid rising prices.
Presenting what it described as an alternative vision for the country, the ADC said security must become intelligence-led, technology-enabled, community-informed, and locally responsive, while economic reforms must focus on reducing the cost of governance, supporting small businesses, and making food security a national priority. “We believe that all the afflictions that we face as a people are direct manifestations of the affliction that the ruling party represents. Insecurity reflects their incompetence and indifference. Growing poverty reflects their wrong-headed economic policy that celebrates statistics but remains indifferent to human suffering,” the ADC noted.
The ADC also expressed concern over growing youth unemployment and migration trends, arguing that many young Nigerians no longer see a future in the country. “Our young people, who should be the engine of national renewal and economic growth, increasingly confront a future defined by uncertainty. Many cannot find meaningful employment. Many others no longer see a future for themselves within our borders,” Abdullahi added.
Furthermore, the opposition party argued that public confidence in democratic institutions continues to erode, with many Nigerians questioning whether democracy is delivering on its most basic promise. “Increasingly, Nigerians question whether government listens, whether institutions serve the public interest, and whether democracy is delivering on its most basic promise: that the people should have both a voice and a stake in the future of their country,” the ADC said. “These are not opposition talking points. They are the concerns of a nation demanding not excuses, but answers; not propaganda, but performance; not promises, but progress.”
The ADC’s criticism was echoed by its presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who accused the Tinubu administration of conducting a “systematic assault on democratic space.” In a separate statement to mark Democracy Day, Atiku alleged that “financial crimes agencies, the police, the National Assembly, and even segments of the judiciary have been deployed to harass, intimidate, and coerce opposition voices into submission or defection.” He warned that Nigeria now faces an “increasingly authoritarian civilian order” that seeks legitimacy through institutions it has steadily captured and weakened, and urged Nigerians to “stand up in defence of the Republic” as they did during the military era.
Atiku also called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency on security, arguing that commanders need more freedom to act decisively and proactively against terrorists and bandits without political interference. “Nigeria is facing worsening insecurity that demands extraordinary measures,” Atiku said, adding that a state of emergency on security does not involve the suspension of elected officials.
The ADC’s open letter came as a coalition of civil society organisations, labour activists, youth groups, and community associations held nationwide protests on Democracy Day to demand urgent action against worsening insecurity, hunger, and deepening economic hardship.
In his Democracy Day broadcast on June 12, President Tinubu acknowledged that the abduction of schoolchildren in Oyo and Borno had dampened the national mood and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to security, noting that the 2026 budget commits a record N5.41 trillion to defence and security and that 13,000 terrorists had been neutralised in the past year. However, he also urged Nigerians not to blame or point fingers, stating that “crime has no ethnicity” and that “we must stand united.”
The ADC’s assessment of the state of the nation on Democracy Day serves as a stark rebuttal to the government’s claims of progress, and the party has indicated that it will continue to push its alternative policy framework as the 2027 elections approach. “Democracy is not measured by the number of years since military rule ended. It must be measured by the meaning it has brought to citizenship and the freedoms it has brought to citizens – freedom from fear, freedom from poverty, freedom to participate, and freedom to choose,” the ADC said.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com ✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments