Bola Tinubu’s dive and duck governance style in which he speaks through surrogates and dodges personal media encounter – in fear of getting exposed – is unravelling with discovery that more than 2,400 citizens have been murdered by terrorists and more than 1.8000 kidnapped in his first eight months in Aso Rock.
The President (who knows he has nowhere to hide, with 200 million irrepressible Nigerians tracking and trolling him) delights in using sound bites to grab headlines with little to show for concrete action in solving major national problems.
Tinubu is currently on a “private trip” (a cover for medical tourism) in Paris and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked him to step aside if the shoes are too big for him.
Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), a well respected outfit, quoted Global Rights as collating since Tinubu came to power on 29 May 2023, terrorists have killed at least 2,423 Nigerians and abducted no fewer than 1,872 across the country.
Tinubu’s empty promises
Nigeria has been battling insecurity for more than a decade. Boko Haram, ISWAP and other terrorist organisations relentlessly wreak havoc on communities. Bandits are also beginning to walk in their footsteps, killing and kidnapping.
On the campaign trail in 2023, Tinubu vowed to tackle insecurity but the scourge remains rife more than 240 days after his assumption of office.
Capital city Abuja is gradually becoming a shadow of its past. It has witnessed killings and abductions by armed criminals since November last year. Some families of kidnapping victims resort to crowdfunding to pay ransom to get their loved ones freed.
Plateau has also experienced repeated attacks in the past one month alone.
“Road ambushes have made interstate travel more perilous. Reported incidents such as the abduction of 30 passengers near Katari along the Kaduna-Abuja highway and the kidnapping of 45 passengers in Orokam on the Benue-Enugu route underscore the gravity of the situation,” Global Rights said in the report.
Tinubu keeps on making promises to combat insecurity and stop the carnage but Nigerians are yet to see any positive change.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
