Atiku Challenges Tinubu Over ‘Cancer Patient’ Analogy: ‘Why Haven’t You Cured Nigeria?’

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his description of Nigeria as a cancer patient during his 66th Independence Day address.

Atiku spoke on Thursday at a world press conference in Abuja, questioning why Nigerians were still facing economic hardship after three years of Tinubu’s administration if the reforms introduced by the government were intended to treat the problems confronting the country.

Tinubu had used the cancer analogy in his Independence Day broadcast, saying Nigeria was like a sick patient diagnosed with cancer when his administration took office in 2023. He compared his economic reforms to painful medical treatment that, in his view, was necessary to address the country’s underlying problems.

Responding to the analogy, Atiku asked why Nigerians were still struggling with the cost of food, medicine and transportation. He also questioned the government’s increased revenue in relation to what he described as declining purchasing power among citizens.

“Bola, you called Nigeria a patient with cancer. After three years of your treatment, why is it harder for Nigerians to buy food, pay for medicine, or even get to work?” Atiku asked.

The ADC candidate argued that citizens experiencing hardship should not be dismissed for questioning the pace and impact of government policies. He likened the situation to a medical patient seeking answers from a doctor when treatment does not appear to have produced the expected relief.

“You said Nigerians must endure the pain because you are curing the disease, but when a patient cries out, a doctor listens,” Atiku said. He added that worsening living conditions should not, in his view, be presented as evidence that the treatment was succeeding.

Atiku also challenged Tinubu’s suggestion that the country’s economic problems were inherited from previous administrations, pointing to the All Progressives Congress’ years in power before Tinubu assumed office. He asked the President to account for conditions confronting Nigerians rather than presenting the situation as if his administration had no connection to the preceding years of APC governance.

His comments came shortly after Tinubu defended his economic policies in the Independence Day address, saying the reforms had corrected the country’s economic direction and that Nigeria had entered what he called an “age of prosperity.” The President also cited economic growth, lower inflation from its peak, rebuilt foreign reserves and increased non-oil export revenues as evidence of progress.