Until Atiku Fixes the Power Problem He Helped Create, Nigerians Will Keep Rejecting Him

 

Atiku Abubakar has been contesting for Nigeria’s highest office for decades but what continues to haunt him isn’t just politics, it’s power. Literally.

As Vice President from 1999 to 2007, Atiku played a key role in the privatization of NEPA, Nigeria’s electricity body. The goal was to bring light to the people and improve the power sector but the result was far from it. What Nigerians got instead was darkness, noise pollution, and a full-blown dependency on generators.

Since then, having 24/7 electricity in Nigeria has become a distant dream. And while newer generations grow up without knowing stable power, they grow up hearing the same story: “Atiku was part of the people that sold our light.”

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The silence from past leaders has allowed this narrative to grow deeper roots. In a country where generators are louder than birds in the morning and fuel is treated like gold, people continue to ask why did we let go of something that could have changed everything?

Atiku, who many believe brought generators into the country and made them a norm, must understand the weight of that decision. The privatization of power didn’t just affect electricity it affected the cost of fuel, the rise of noise pollution, and the daily survival of every Nigerian household.

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Today, Nigeria has better resources than fuel natural gas, solar, hydro but those are ignored because the foundation is still broken. And until that foundation is fixed, trust won’t return.

If Atiku wants the people to believe in him again, he must start by confronting the past. Nigerians haven’t forgotten the 1999 to 2007 era. Many say it was a turning point for the worse. And every time he runs, that history returns to the spotlight.

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Atiku must rebuild trust. He must speak up, take responsibility, and bring solutions especially in the power sector. Because if he doesn’t, Nigerians will keep rejecting him, not just at the polls, but in history.