Mr President, only the living can utilise your commissioned projects

Last Sunday, the world celebrated Father’s Day. The role fathers play in the family, especially in matters relating to the security and safety of the household, cannot be overemphasised. That is the major responsibility of genuine, self-respecting fathers, not deadbeat ones who shirk their God-given responsibilities at the slightest opportunity. Fathers are often the first to jump into action when anything poses a threat or when someone in the family gets hurt. No matter what a father is doing, even if he is on a trip, the natural instinct is to rush home upon hearing that his family is in danger or under attack.

In Nigeria, the president is often referred to as the ‘father of the nation’. However, President Bola Tinubu’s recent actions call into question whether he truly deserves that title, given the way he has handled insecurity in the country. During the electioneering campaign in 2022, Tinubu told Nigerians a hard truth: he would continue with the legacies of President Muhammadu Buhari if elected Nigeria’s president in the 2023 general elections. What were the legacies of the Buhari administration? They included insecurity challenges, banditry, kidnappings, senseless killings by terrorists masquerading as herdsmen, a decaying healthcare system, erratic electricity supply, and ultimately, granting amnesty to ‘repentant terrorists’ and reintegrating them into society while their victims lie cold in the grave or suffer in IDP camps. It appears President Tinubu has not only continued where Buhari stopped—he has taken it to a disturbingly higher level.

After public outrage, prayers by Pope Leo, and a viral video by activist VeryDarkMan showing the massive devastation caused by terrorists who killed over 200 people in Guma and Yelwata in Benue State, President Tinubu finally agreed to visit the state. His initial itinerary, which he postponed, was to visit Kaduna to commission various government projects. Pray, what is the point of commissioning projects with fanfare when people are being mindlessly slaughtered in what many have described as genocide or massacre? Must human lives be sacrificed on the altar of politics?

Last week, an Air India flight in Ahmedabad en route to Gatwick Airport crashed, killing 241 passengers and crew on board. The country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, without prompting, promptly visited the crash site in Ahmedabad and met the lone survivor in the hospital. That is what is expected from the father of a nation. His visit did not bring back the dead, but it gave the families of the victims and the lone survivor a sense that they have a leader who cares and empathises with them in their time of grief.

The Benue killings did not begin today. President Tinubu left Nigeria on 2 April 2025 for what the presidency described as a two-week working visit to Paris, France. The explanation given by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, was that during his stay in France, Tinubu would appraise his administration’s mid-term performance and assess key milestones.

While Tinubu was in France, the security situation in Nigeria worsened, with reports of heightened violent attacks and the killing of innocent citizens in various communities, particularly in Plateau, Benue, Borno, Katsina and Enugu states.

On 2 April, no fewer than 40 people were killed and more than 100 displaced in a brutal attack on Hurti, Josho, Daffo and other communities in the Manguna District of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State. The head of the Hurti community, Mr Marren Aradong, said the attackers burnt 383 houses, destroyed foodstuffs, and looted other items. Despite the deployment of police operatives and assets to the affected communities, the assailants were not deterred. They also ferociously attacked the Zike community, Kimakpa, in the Kwali District of Bassa Local Government Area, killing 51 people. Just 24 hours earlier, a similar attack on the Otobi Akpa community in Benue had left at least 13 people dead, with others injured or missing. At least 50 houses were destroyed.

As the father of the nation and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, many Nigerians expected the president to return home to issue directives to security chiefs or visit the affected states. Alas, the presidency issued another statement saying the president would travel to the UK. During his stay in London, he reportedly met with the suspended Rivers state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and held other political meetings before returning to Nigeria on 21 April. He also attended the new pope’s inauguration in May, without visiting Benue or the other affected states.

It is worth noting that during the president’s trip abroad, the ruling APC shut its national secretariat in honour of its national director of administration, Rauf Adekunle Adeniji, who was killed by his abductors after a ransom of N350 million was allegedly paid. The late Adeniji was reportedly abducted earlier this year by gunmen wielding AK-47s in the Chikakore area of Kubwa, within the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). He was taken alongside three others—his brother, wife, and son—during the attack. His brother’s wife, Madam Esther, was killed, and her body was discovered around the Ijah-Gbagyi community in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State the following morning.

Following the president’s return to Nigeria, the killings continued unabated. Yet, the president refused to visit the affected states. Instead, he embarked on a series of project commissionings with fanfare to celebrate his two years in office. But of what use are these projects if the country is too unsafe for citizens to move freely? Only the living can benefit from these projects—the dead cannot. The primary responsibility of any serious government is the protection of lives and property from internal and external threats. Every other responsibility is secondary. But in President Tinubu’s case, it appears project commissioning—completed or not—takes precedence over citizens’ safety.

When some Nigerians lost their lives in the bomb blasts that rocked Ikeja Cantonment on 27 January 2002, former President Olusegun Obasanjo immediately visited the scene and addressed residents, even though many criticised his infamous remark: “After all, I’m not supposed to be here,” when heckled by the crowd. President Tinubu, who was then the governor of Lagos state, also visited the site and provided fatherly support to victims’ relatives. What has changed since then?

The current 10th national assembly under Senate President Godswill Akpabio is also complicit. During the Ikeja bomb blast, the house of representatives, led by the late Ghali Na’Abba, asked President Obasanjo to suspend his planned foreign trip to the United States and Venezuela. The senate also abruptly adjourned its sitting in respect of the victims. Even if only for optics, can’t the national assembly summon the president to brief them on his strategy to tackle insecurity? Instead of addressing urgent national issues like the killings in Benue and other regions, they are busy quarrelling over seating arrangements and proposing compulsory voting for Nigerians. Perhaps they have forgotten: the dead cannot vote.

On a final note, I saw a viral video of the minister of interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, lamenting the meagre budgetary allocations for security agencies. Speaking at an event jointly organised by the house of representatives committee on the review of the constitution and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in Abuja on Monday, 16 June, Tunji-Ojo said, “Look at the 2025 budget—how much do we have for border security? That is the truth. The whole capital budget for the National Immigration Service is less than N10 billion, and you want to protect 4,024 sq/km of our border space. Are we joking? The more you kill one terrorist and the border is porous, twenty will come in.”

Yes, you heard him right—less than N10 billion to secure our borders, yet a staggering N39 billion was used to renovate the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja, which was named after the president. In June 2024, the Tinubu administration spent N21 billion to build an official residence in Abuja for Vice-President Kashim Shettima and another N5 billion to renovate his official residence in Lagos, while millions of hapless Nigerians displaced by terrorists and bandits are languishing in IDP camps. The president has also flagged off the construction of a new Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja, which may likely be named after him. Nigerians are watching to see how much this elephant project will cost. We are busy commissioning 30 km out of a 750 km coastal road project while innocent lives—especially those of children—are being lost daily.

The President Tinubu I know is a listening leader who values hearing frank, undiluted truths. He also accepts correction and makes amends when presented with superior arguments. The recent incident involving Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is proof. I know many people reached out to him, and no matter the governor’s missteps, public humiliation wasn’t the best approach. The president listened and forgave the governor. I was glad to see them back in their father-son relationship during his Democracy Day address at the national assembly last week. Listening to constructive criticism is a key attribute of a good leader. We will continue to tell Mr President the truth and hold him accountable for the progress and development of our nation. Only the living can enjoy his commissioned projects—the dead in Benue and other parts of Nigeria cannot.

Akinsuyi, former group politics sditor of Daily Independent, writes from Abuja.