Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Bola Tinubu administration over the worsening insecurity in Benue State, saying Nigerians should not be forced to bear the cost of economic reforms while continuing to lose their lives to violence.
Atiku spoke on Monday when he received ADC candidates contesting various elective positions in Benue State, where he described the state’s security crisis as both a threat to food production and a contributor to Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis.
The former vice-president, who described Benue as the “Food Basket of the Nation”, cited a report by Amnesty International which he said recorded 6,896 deaths in the state during the first two years of the Tinubu administration.
“Benue is the Food Basket of the Nation. Today, that basket is bleeding,” Atiku said.
He said the victims were largely farmers and residents whose livelihoods and communities had been disrupted by insecurity.
“Behind that figure are farmers who never returned from their farms, families driven from their ancestral homes, and communities emptied by fear,” he said.
According to Atiku, the impact of insecurity extends beyond the affected communities, as farmers being driven away from their land contributes to rising food prices across the country.
“When Benue cannot farm, Nigeria cannot eat cheaply. Every farmer forced off the land eventually shows up in the price of yam, rice, beans, vegetables and meat in the market,” he said.
The ADC candidate said insecurity had therefore become more than a security challenge, describing it as an additional burden on households already struggling with the rising cost of living.
“Insecurity is not only a security crisis; it is now a cost-of-living tax on every Nigerian family,” he said.
Atiku also linked his criticism to the removal of petrol subsidy, arguing that Nigerians had accepted higher costs on the understanding that the savings would be channelled into development and security.
He said his experience as a farmer had also exposed him to the consequences of insecurity on agricultural production.
“My farms have suffered from theft and disruption. I therefore understand, from personal experience, what insecurity does to production, livelihoods and ultimately the price of food in the market,” he said.
Atiku questioned the level of security outcomes despite what he described as significant government resources and cited figures from the Nigeria Customs Service on import-duty exemption approvals.
“So Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: Where is the security? Where are the results?” he asked.
“If Nigerians must pay more for fuel so government can have more resources, and enormous concessions are being approved in the name of national priorities, then Nigerians should not also be paying with their lives.”
The former vice-president said the crisis in Benue could be resolved through a combination of effective security measures, dialogue and protection of livelihoods.
He recalled his previous involvement in efforts to broker peace between Tiv and Fulani communities, stressing that criminality should not be associated with ethnicity.
“I know this crisis is solvable. I have helped broker peace between Tiv and Fulani communities before, and I remain convinced that criminality has no tribe. A killer is a killer. A thief is a thief,” Atiku said.
He called for criminals to be punished while farmers and livestock owners are protected to restore peaceful coexistence.
Atiku said the ADC candidates should see their political mission as extending beyond electoral victory to addressing the state’s security and economic challenges.
“Their mission must be greater than winning elections. It must be about protecting lives, restoring livelihoods, reviving the Food Basket of the Nation, and making life affordable again,” he said.
The post Atiku to Tinubu: Nigerians shouldn’t pay with lives after paying more for fuel appeared first on Vanguard News.