Mene ne kuke yi da ba daidai ba har kuka cancanci zarge-zargen cin hanci da rashawa da kiyayya gare ku?

Do not exchange four years of your future for one afternoon of inducement. Fellow Nigerians, and most importantly, the young Nigerians gathered here today, the heartbeat of our nation, and those following this programme across the length and breadth of our country, perhaps checking their phones to see whether I am trending yet, good morning. Look at me. Look closely. I have spent the better part of my life fighting for democracy, justice and the progress of our beloved country. Time has given me experience, but it has not diminished my conviction. The fire that inspired me as a young student activist still burns today because every day I see millions of young Nigerians denied opportunities that should have been theirs. I stand before you today not merely as a former Vice President or an elder statesman, but as a lifelong democrat who has never stopped believing that Nigeria can become the great nation its people deserve.

When I was your age, I was actively involved in student politics. Like many young Nigerians of my generation, I believed that leadership was not about titles but about service, courage and the willingness to challenge injustice. We did not have social media to amplify our voices. We organised. We debated. We mobilised. We marched. And sometimes, we ran from the police. As the years passed, many of us joined countless other Nigerians—students, labour leaders, journalists, civil society organisations, pro-democracy activists and ordinary citizens in resisting military authoritarianism and demanding democratic governance. Many paid dearly for that struggle. Some lost their freedom. Some lost their livelihoods. Some paid the ultimate price with their lives. By the grace of God, some of us survived to witness the return of democratic rule in 1999. I was privileged to serve as Vice President at that defining moment in our nation's history. Together with millions of Nigerians, we helped lay the foundation for the democratic Nigeria we all cherish today.

Atiku described as extraordinary the reported announcement by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, that he had secured Tinubu a seat “not too far from where the US President, Donald Trump, will be seated.” “The seat was secured, but the President disappeared,” Atiku said. “If proximity to President Trump was considered such a diplomatic achievement, why did Tinubu abandon the opportunity and send his deputy? Why celebrate securing a strategic seat for the President when the President had no intention of occupying it? “That contradiction becomes even more scandalous when Nigerians remember that Tinubu’s administration committed up to $9 million of Nigeria’s scarce foreign exchange to American lobbyists supposedly hired to improve its standing before the government and people of the United States. “What exactly did Nigerians purchase with that money? Why spend millions of dollars lobbying Washington while Tinubu repeatedly stays away from New York? Why hire lobbyists to speak for Nigeria in America when the Nigerian President cannot summon the courage to appear at the world’s biggest diplomatic gathering on American soil?

TINUBU PROTESTED JONATHAN’S FUEL PRICES. FIVE NIGERIANS ARE NOW REPORTEDLY IN CUSTODY OVER “TINUBU MUST GO” T-SHIRTS — ATIKU Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has demanded the immediate release of five Nigerians reportedly arrested in Borno State over T-shirts bearing the words “Tinubu Must Go.” He said that if a political slogan is the reason for their detention, those responsible must explain how wearing a shirt became an offence in a democracy. In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said President Bola Tinubu once stood with Nigerians protesting fuel prices under President Goodluck Jonathan, but now presides over a cost-of-living crisis that has made the same fuel, along with food, transport and electricity, painfully expensive. “Tinubu opposed Jonathan’s fuel policy in the streets. Nigerians are living with the consequences of Tinubu’s fuel policy in their homes. Parents are cutting meals. Workers can scarcely afford the journey to work. Families are being crushed by bills that rise faster than their income. And when citizens put their anger on a T-shirt, the response is reportedly an arrest. What kind of democracy grants its President the right to protest, then takes that right away from everyone else?” Atiku asked.

Question: Why are you still seeking the presidency after several attempts and what do you say to Nigerians who believe it is driven by personal ambition rather than national service? Answer: I have said it several times that my interest in being president of Nigeria is to serve the country. Nigeria has given me so many opportunities to be who I am today. If God has given me the grace to return the benefits to the country, why should I shy away from that call to duty? If other presidents we have had offered better quality of leadership, I would have retired the ambition. But I cannot, in good conscience, decide to retire my ambition when I know that I have better ideas to offer in leading the country. If I were interested in personal gains, I would have been patronizing my opponents all these years. Such a decision would not be fair to Nigeria. I am in the race and persistently to offer service to the country.

I have the experience to lead this country, and that is what Nigeria needs now. I have done this work before. Nigerians elected me Vice President twice, in 1999 and 2003, and in government I led the reforms that returned loss-making government companies to private hands and opened our economy to private investment. I served Nigeria in the Customs Service from 1969 to 1986, and I have built businesses that today employ thousands of Nigerians, so I know how jobs are created. The two issues Nigerians care about most are restoring vitality to our economy and securing the country. My plan is clear: end insecurity, bring down the cost of living, create opportunities for every Nigerian, and uphold the rule of law. Nigeria has given me so many opportunities to be who I am today. If the presidents we have had offered better leadership, I would have retired my ambition. But I cannot, in good conscience, do that when I know I have better ideas to offer. The constitution allows a four-year term, and a second term is not an automatic entitlement. I am in this race to serve.