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“Yesterday, we prayed for a better tomorrow; today, we weep for a better yesterday.”
— Chief Anthony Enahoro
This searing lamentation is not the whimsical echo of a nostalgic nationalist. No. It is a solemn, soul-wrenching obituary for a country that once had a taste of transformative leadership but is now drowning in a swamp of mediocrity, manipulated illusions, and malevolent governance. We are a nation caught in a curious irony: the further we move forward under the APC government, the farther we fall backward, economically, politically, socially, and spiritually. What a paradox! What a tragedy! Nigeria has become a nation weeping at her past glory while bleeding from her present agony.
Yet, there was a time when hope was not a poetic abstraction. There was a time when governance did not simply mean occupying Aso Rock, but performing, delivering, and inspiring. That time was not a dream. It was not folklore. It was tangible, measurable, and memorable. It was the golden epoch of the Obasanjo–Atiku administration, a season when leadership was not an accident of politics, but a convergence of character, competence, and clarity.
And now, standing in the ruins of APC’s disastrous tenure,amid galloping inflation, mass unemployment, state-sponsored poverty, and unending insecurity, one is compelled to recall those years not with nostalgia, but with a sense of historical urgency. And if history truly has a conscience, then that conscience must compel us to ask: Where did we go wrong? Who bewitched us? And how do we reclaim our interrupted greatness?
In 1999, Nigeria wasn’t just bruised by the baton of military despotism; she was psychologically battered, economically bankrupt, and politically paralyzed. It was in this wilderness of despair that President Olusegun Obasanjo and his dependable vice, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, emerged as the architects of national rehabilitation. They didn’t just inherit ruins, they inherited resentments, rebellions, and regressions. Yet, with audacity of purpose and strategic vision, they commenced the most ambitious project of national redemption in the Fourth Republic.
And the fruits? They were visible. Verifiable. Valuable.
The record is unblemished and undisputed. It is not wrapped in propaganda or shrouded in deceit, as we see today. It was leadership by performance, not posturing. It was governance with substance, not sophistry. And recently, at the launch of “We Are All Bystanders” by Lamido Sanusi, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a man never known to flatter or fabricate, made a profound, unforgettable statement of national consequence:
“Some of the things we started during my administration with Atiku have not been completed. The work is not yet finished.”
Let those words sink deeply into the national consciousness. For they are not idle reflections. They are not ceremonial tributes. They are a verdict of history. A prophecy of continuity. A call to duty. Indeed, the work is not yet finished. And there is only one man whose political biography, institutional insight, and economic intellect qualifies him to finish that noble work, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Let us retrace their legacy, brick by brick, policy by policy.
Before Boko Haram mutated into the monstrous demon that it is today, Obasanjo and Atiku had already begun to suffocate its oxygen. They activated a multi-layered counter-insurgency strategy: from military intelligence reforms to cross-border surveillance, they understood that security is not about optics, but strategy. Where APC today sends “thoughts and prayers,” Obasanjo and Atiku sent battalions and blueprints. While APC’s approach to terrorism is often reactive and rhetorically hollow, their approach was proactive, organised, and robust.
Then came education,the cornerstone of any serious nation’s progress. They championed the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme, not as a token project but as a deliberate assault against illiteracy. Tertiary education saw unprecedented revivals, backed by TETFUND and curriculum updates. Vocational and technical institutions received direct investments, because they believed education must marry knowledge with skill, not just theory with paper.
Compare this with the APC’s catastrophic treatment of the educational sector. Under their watch, budgets were slashed. Lecturers were demonised. Youths were criminalised. It is not governance,it is generational genocide. While the Obasanjo–Atiku era built minds and opened doors, APC’s misrule destroyed aspirations and shattered futures.
Agriculture? The transformation was holistic. Not just about growing crops, but about growing prosperity. Under Atiku’s economic management team, FADAMA projects, cassava revolution, and agro-export incentives were implemented. Smallholder farmers had access to credit, inputs, and infrastructure.
What does APC have? Lip service. Food inflation. Endless rhetoric. They parade rice pyramids while the masses queue at grain depots. Hunger walks naked in the land.
Infrastructure under Obasanjo and Atiku was not a mirage. Roads were constructed and maintained with precision. The National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) was launched to tackle power deficits. Railways that had died were resuscitated. Airports received major face-lifts. It was clear: these were men thinking not just of today, but of tomorrow.
Now under APC, the power sector has become a national embarrassment. Promises of megawatts have vanished into megablunders. The roads have become death traps. The airports are decaying museums. Where they built with blueprints, APC governs with guesswork and deceit.
Poverty was not treated as a buzzword. Under Atiku’s leadership, the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) was launched. The tricycle revolution (Keke-NAPEP) empowered youth. Microcredit schemes reached the grassroots. Skill acquisition centers dotted the nation. And unemployment? Declined measurably.
Now, APC has taken poverty from affliction to policy. They introduced laughable tokenism and called it “intervention.” They suffocate the masses with levies and taxes, while awarding subsidies to ghost companies. Poverty is now weaponised for political subjugation.
Commerce flourished under the Obasanjo–Atiku regime. The telecoms sector liberalisation birthed the GSM revolution. Banking consolidation ensured financial resilience. Privatisation, under Atiku’s coordination, was not looting, it was repositioning. Where APC has crumbled investor confidence, they cultivated it.
Local Government autonomy was respected. Funds were disbursed directly. Development was visible at the grassroots. There were functioning health centers, primary schools, and farm settlements. Under APC, local governments are dead, gasping for breath under the hegemony of corrupt governors.
So, what has the APC given us?
A nation hungrier than ever.
A people more broken than ever.
A currency weaker than ever.
A government more detached than ever.
A country more divided than ever.
Let it be said without fear or favour: Atiku Abubakar is not a messiah. He is a mortal. But he is a mortal with memory, method, and mastery. He has walked the corridor of power, not as a spectator, but as a performer. He is a man whose knowledge of governance is not theoretical,it is practical, empirical, and surgical. He understands the intricacies of Nigerian diversity. He knows how to revive, reform, and reconnect the nation to purpose.
As Obasanjo declared with patriotic candour
“The work is not yet finished.”
And we ask again: Who will finish it?
Not those who have taken Nigeria from hope to horror.
Not those who turn every misfortune into a press statement.
Not those who chant “renewed hope” while the people wallow in renewed hunger.
But Atiku Abubakar, the Waziri Adamawa, the policy warrior, the visionary builder, he remains the singular Nigerian statesman who can stitch this broken nation back together.
Let the bells of reason ring. Let the fire of truth burn. Let the army of conscience rise. Let Nigeria be rescued from this democratic abyss.
Indeed, as Anthony Enahoro thundered:
“Yesterday, we prayed for a better tomorrow; today, we weep for a better yesterday.”
Let us not keep weeping. Let us rise and recover our better yesterday, so we may build a glorious tomorrow.
Let the work continue. Let Atiku finish it.
Aare Amerijoye Dotb
Director General
The Narrative Force.
SB E-news
SB events magazine
Efficiency magazine
Efficiency award for Excellence EAE.
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