‘Shameful abdication of responsibility’ — ADC criticises FG for blaming Trump over rising insecurity

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the federal government for blaming recent attacks in Kebbi and Kwara states on remarks by US President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, George Akume, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), said recent statements by Trump concerning the security situation in Nigeria have emboldened violent groups seeking to exploit international narratives to launch fresh attacks across the country.

However, in a statement on Thursday, Bolaji Abdullahi, national publicity secretary of the ADC, said Akume’s comment was an attempt to deflect responsibility.

Abdullahi said the party found it “appalling” that the APC-led government suggested that insecurity in Nigeria was triggered by a statement made by a foreign president.

He said the claim amounted to “a shameful abdication of responsibility” and a confirmation that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is overwhelmed by the security crisis.

The ADC spokesperson said Nigerians had endured massacres, mass abductions and attacks on schools and places of worship for years under the APC-led government.

Abdullahi said the situation has worsened under the current administration because of the “government’s failure to respond decisively”.

“It is therefore disingenuous to blame one tweet for the state of insecurity in Nigeria,” he said.

“Those killing Nigerians did not need to be instigated by Trump; they were already actively encouraged by a government that consistently fails to act decisively to stop the carnage, a government that is, even after nearly three years in office, still celebrating its electoral victory while the country is turned into a killing field.”

He questioned how a sovereign government could attribute the collapse of its security system to a statement by a foreign leader.

He asked whether the country is so vulnerable that “a social media post from Washington” could destabilise it.

“If indeed Mr Trump’s statement constitutes such a security threat, what has been the government’s evaluation of that threat, and what measures have the government put in place to mitigate the potential threat that could emanate from it?” the ADC spokesman queried.

“This is what any serious government would do. It would not just wait for these opportunistic attacks to start shopping for who to blame for its incompetence.”

He said Nigerians are tired of the government’s refusal to accept responsibility for the situation.

The ADC spokesman said Nigeria was “under siege” because of what he called domestic negligence and incompetence, not because of Trump’s remarks.