Nigerians Are Dying But Tinubu Is Nowhere To Be Found – Atiku
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has launched a scathing criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s continued absence from Nigeria, accusing him of abandoning the country at a time when citizens are being slaughtered in multiple regions amid a worsening security crisis.
Tinubu left Nigeria for France on April 2 for what the Presidency described as a “working visit.” However, nearly three weeks later, his absence in the face of repeated killings and abductions have drawn outrage from many quarters, including the opposition.
“The blood of innocent Nigerians continues to be spilled with appalling regularity,” Atiku said in a recent statement, pointing to the most recent attacks in the Logo and Gbagir communities of Ukum LGA in Benue State. Yet, he lamented, the Tinubu presidency “remains disturbingly indifferent, displaying neither urgency nor the basic decency of public empathy.”
Citing historical examples of world leaders who returned home in moments of crisis, Atiku recalled how President Barack Obama “cut short an important diplomatic visit” in 2016 after five police officers were killed, and how South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa abandoned a state visit in 2019 amid a power crisis. “Leadership demands presence,” he emphasized.
In contrast, Atiku said Tinubu has chosen to “gallivant across Europe — governing Nigeria in absentia as if from a holiday perch,” while Nigerians continue to suffer. “If he cannot act, the least he can do is show up. If he cannot lead with empathy, he should at least attempt the performance of it,” he said.
Nigeria has witnessed an alarming spike in insecurity in recent days. On April 14, over 50 people were killed in Zike, Bassa LGA of Plateau State. In Delta State, four children were reportedly abducted over the weekend at Ogwashi-Uku, causing widespread panic. In the north-central, residents of Benue are mourning again following the latest deadly attacks in Ukum.
Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, argued that the Tinubu administration has shown itself to be “wholly incompetent” and “completely devoid of any coherent ideas” for addressing the security crisis. He added that this is a belief “even members within the ruling party” quietly hold, “though too timid to speak publicly.”
“We will not stop calling it out,” Atiku vowed.
