By Aare Amerijoye DOT.B

In the marketplace of lies where APC hawks propaganda like rotten tomatoes, The Narrative Force must rise with facts as our sword, history as our shield, and truth as our compass. The Presidency’s latest outburst, claiming Atiku Abubakar is “stuck in the past,” is not only laughable, it is a tragic comedy, staged to distract Nigerians from the present-day starvation that APC has authored.
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When Atiku and Obasanjo Took Over a Ruin. Let us remind APC where Nigeria was in 1999:

GDP growth: -0.58% (1999, World Bank),

Foreign reserves: barely $3.4 billion,

External debt: a choking $36 billion,

Telecommunications: fewer than 500,000 active phone lines nationwide,

Banking sector: riddled with collapsed institutions, depositors losing their life savings,

Inflation: above 20%.
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Nigeria was a pariah state, excluded from global financial markets and viewed with suspicion by investors after decades of military misrule.
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Enter President Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a team that did not waste time blaming the past. Instead, they rolled up their sleeves and redefined Nigeria’s economy.
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Atiku’s Feats as Chairman of the National Economic Council (1999–2007).Atiku was not a spare tyre Vice President, he was the de facto economic driver of Obasanjo’s administration, chairing the economic team that crafted and implemented transformational reforms.
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Telecoms Revolution: Atiku supervised the liberalization that gave birth to GSM. From 500,000 lines in 1999, Nigeria grew to over 30 million lines by 2007. This single policy unleashed ICT, created millions of jobs, and added billions to GDP. Today, Nigerians shout on social media using phones made possible by Atiku’s reforms.
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Debt Relief: Nigeria secured a historic deal with the Paris Club, wiping off $18 billion in external debt. This was not magic, it was Atiku’s push for fiscal discipline, privatization, and reforms that convinced creditors Nigeria was serious about business.
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Banking Consolidation: With Atiku as economic chair, the CBN embarked on consolidation. Banks’ capitalization was raised to ₦25 billion, forcing mergers that created stronger institutions. The same Nigerian banks now expanding into Africa are fruits of that foundation.
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Privatisation and Liberalisation: Under Atiku’s watch, strategic enterprises such as cement, power, ports and airlines were liberalized, attracting investment and ending state inefficiency. Today, Dangote Cement, which now feeds African markets, blossomed under that policy environment.
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GDP Growth: By 2007, Nigeria’s GDP growth had surged to 6.6%, inflation dropped to 6.6%, and foreign reserves swelled above $43 billion. These are not fairy tales, they are World Bank and IMF-verified figures.
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In short, Atiku helped pull Nigeria from economic ruins into Africa’s fastest-growing economy.
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The APC Satire: Hypocrisy on Parade.Now compare that with APC’s record:Tinubu claims to be “fixing” the economy, but what kind of mechanic increases the cost of petrol from ₦195 to over ₦700 overnight without a shock absorber? What kind of surgeon prescribes starvation as medicine, removing subsidy with one hand, while devaluing the naira with the other, leaving Nigerians in economic coma?
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APC tells Nigerians to be patient, but hunger cannot wait, school fees cannot wait, transport fares cannot wait. Only lies wait forever.
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APC says Atiku is “fixated on the past.” But when the past produced growth, jobs, and stability, and the present produces hunger, death, and migration, who is truly stuck? Nigerians would rather be “fixated” on prosperity than “progressing” into penury.
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The Character of Atiku
Atiku does not trade in fallacies. He does not deploy “stomach propaganda.” He stands by due process, restructuring, and institutional reform. Unlike APC’s circus of excuses, Atiku speaks the language of policy, not pettiness.
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APC’s presidency may run its mouth, but Nigerians run their lives. They remember how Atiku and Obasanjo handed them hope in 1999 and prosperity in 2007. They also know who handed them recession in 2016, food inflation in 2020, and despair in 2023.
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The facts are crystal:Atiku was part of the team that rescued Nigeria once.He has the vision and blueprint to rescue Nigeria again.

APC is not fixing Nigeria, it is fiddling with her corpse.
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The Narrative Force
Shield, Sword, and Compass for 2027

Aare Amerijoye DOT.B
Director General,
The Narrative Force