Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said that he does not share the sentiment that the outgoing year was a successful one for Nigerians.
In a statement on New Year’s Eve, Atiku called for togetherness in achieving common goals.
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“I do not share the sentiment when some people claim that the outgone 2019 was a successful year for Nigerians. Such sentiment is reductionist and does the harm of making us have a false sense of victory,” he said.
“The bitter truth is that Nigeria is still in the throes of economic instability, with more people losing jobs and the attendant outcome of more children being out of school and more families having hard time in accessing basic needs of life.
“In this New Year, however, I will rather ask that Nigerians stand together with renewed vigour and determination to battle the hydra-headed demon of insecurity that has plagued us in the past decade.
“We must challenge the inadequacies that made us become the global headquarters of extreme poverty; much as we must work hard and fast enough to eliminate the scourge of out-of-school children in the country. These are the challenges that this new decade has thrown at us and we cannot afford to slumber and submit to defeat.”
Atiku also said that governments at all levels must work towards improving “the material wellbeing of the people, by lifting millions of Nigerians out of the extreme poverty belt at a start, and to prosperity.”
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He said: “At the individual level, this moment calls for more empathy and sacrifice. The New Year and a new decade come with the opportunity to make better impressions in our lives and in the lives of people around us.”
The former presidential candidate urged the executive to respect court orders and enthrone democracy in the New Year.
