..Says presidency is indifferent, incapable, and devoid of empathy

Former Vice President of Nigeria and 2023 PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has launched a scathing critique of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s handling of Nigeria’s worsening security crisis, accusing the administration of gross incompetence, indifference, and failure to show leadership in moments of national tragedy.

Atiku’s statement, released via his verified X (formerly Twitter) account, comes in the wake of the gruesome killings in the Logo and Gbagir communities of Ukum Local Government Area in Benue State, where scores of innocent Nigerians lost their lives in yet another wave of bloodshed.

According to the former Vice President, the Tinubu administration has consistently proven to be “utterly incapable, wholly incompetent, and completely devoid of any coherent ideas” to tackle the deepening security crisis across the country. He also noted that even members within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), though too timid to speak out publicly, admit in private that the government has lost its grip.

“The blood of innocent Nigerians continues to be spilled with appalling regularity… Yet, the Tinubu presidency remains disturbingly indifferent, displaying neither urgency nor the basic decency of public empathy,” Atiku stated.

Drawing comparisons to global leaders who have shown presence and accountability in times of national distress, Atiku recalled how former U.S. President Barack Obama, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, and even controversial U.S. Senator Ted Cruz acted — or were forced to act — in the face of public crises.

He further reminded Nigerians of how former President Goodluck Jonathan returned home from Equatorial Guinea in 2014 following a deadly bomb blast in Abuja, stressing that such a response was the bare minimum expected from a national leader.

“At a time when Nigerians are grieving and the nation is in pain, President Bola Tinubu has chosen to gallivant across Europe, governing Nigeria in absentia as if from a holiday perch,” Atiku lamented.

“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. Nigeria is bleeding. Nigerians are dying. The president is nowhere to be found,” he added.

While extending his heartfelt condolences to the people and Government of Benue State, Atiku vowed not to relent in holding the government accountable, saying that though an inept administration may not suddenly become competent, “we will not stop calling it out.”

He urged the president to show concern for the lives of Nigerians irrespective of ethnicity, religion, or political leaning, insisting that the bare minimum any leader can offer in times like these is a show of empathy.