Atiku Exposes Tinubu's Government Blaming Media for Hardship

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called out the continued detention of Nasir El-Rufai, warning that the bail conditions imposed on him are essentially a sophisticated form of punishment before conviction. In a statement by his aide Phrank Shaibu, Atiku noted that requiring a serving Grade Level 17 civil servant with property in high-value Abuja districts is not about justice but about making release impossible. This is the same government that claims to respect the rule of law.

But what really got to me was Atiku's response to the presidency blaming the media for Nigeria's worsening insecurity and economic hardship. He said Nigerians don't need journalists to tell them they are hungry. The man is absolutely correct. When a father cannot feed his family, when a mother pays three or four times more for basic food than two years ago, when a small business owner's capital is wiped out — these are not media fabrications. They are daily reality.

The Tinubu administration seems to believe that if they attack the messenger hard enough, the message will disappear. But Nigerians are not fools. We see the empty shelves, we feel the empty pockets, we know the suffering. The question is: how long will this government continue to deny what every Nigerian is experiencing, and when will they start offering real solutions instead of blaming the media for reporting the truth?