Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day national broadcast, describing it as “empty rhetoric divorced from the daily struggles of Nigerians.”
In a statement issued shortly after the broadcast, Shaibu said Tinubu’s claims of progress on education, healthcare, and economic reforms do not reflect the harsh realities ordinary citizens face.
“The yam may be plentiful, but if the pot is empty, the stomach still rumbles. Today, Nigeria’s pot is not only empty but cracked, and the people remain hungry,” he declared.
While President Tinubu praised improvements in schools and hospitals, Shaibu countered that classrooms remain bare, hospitals lack essential facilities, and citizens cannot feel the impact of government reforms. “A man who builds many huts without roofs has only built shade for goats,” he said, accusing the administration of celebrating hollow infrastructure achievements.
He further noted that food inflation, rising transport costs, and shrinking wages have left millions of households unable to afford a single meal. “If these are the seeds of reforms, then the fruit is still bitter. When the roof is on fire, it is folly to declare the rain has quenched it,” Shaibu stated.
The aide also accused the government of failing to secure the country, citing the killing of Arise TV news anchor Somtochukwu Maduagwu in a robbery attack as proof that insecurity remains rampant. “No one – not even the voices that bring us the news – is safe in today’s Nigeria,” he said.
On youth empowerment, Shaibu alleged that government promises remain hollow, with graduates forced into menial jobs or street hustles. “You cannot tell a child to dream big while you steal the mat he sleeps on,” he charged.
At 65, Shaibu argued, Nigeria should not be celebrating statistics but confronting poverty, insecurity, and systemic failures. “A masquerade does not clap for itself; it is the crowd that cheers when the steps are sweet. Nigerians are not clapping, because the music they hear is hunger, insecurity, and despair,” he said.
He concluded that Independence anniversaries should be moments of sober reflection, not self-praise. “The yam is there, but the pot remains empty,” Shaibu declared