By Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko <\/p>\n
Since the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu kickstarted, it has been characterized by a major flaw: its incapacity and inability to substantially curb the fast rising terror attacks on schools and communities just as these attacks have been very bloody with thousands of casualties left on their trails. <\/p>\n
This year 2026, has seen some of the most heart-rending, most painful, traumatic and vexatious terrorist attacks on the very soft targets of schools whereby the well-armed terrorists kidnapped hundreds of children and took them into the bushes and then wait to open up negotiations with government officials. <\/p>\n
These rash of bloody violence have been unleashed in Borno, Yobe, Kebbi, Sokoto, Plateau, Kaduna and most recently in Oyo. <\/p>\n
By the last count, over a thousand school children have been whisked away into the dreaded forests by these terrorists armed with the deadliest of sophisticated military grade weapons. <\/p>\n
The children taken away from their schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, were videoed by their heartless captors whereby they were subjected to all kinds of indignities and torture of the most gruesome and beastial genres. <\/p>\n
The headmaster of one of the schools kidnapped by the terrorists was shown on video being decapitated by the Islamists. <\/p>\n
The speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly revealed that the terrorists demanded that the legislative House makes a law to concede some portions of the state to them even when they are strange Fulanis. The terrorists also made financial demands. In one of the previous hostage situations, it was later revealed that the terrorists were paid with billions of Naira in foreign denominated currency conveyed to their hideouts allegedly in helicopter by the government intermediary. <\/p>\n
Tinubu\u2019s administration through the office of the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu stridently denied and debunked the claims which circulated even in international media. Comically, the terrorists have advanced their trade to include posting live videos on tiktok and Facebook and recently, a video circulated showing hundreds of millions of Naira the terrorists collected as ransom to free some of their captives and the Fulani terrorist was heard speaking in poor Hausa language saying that they are swimming in hundreds of millions of money. Whilst the terrorists smile amidst what they consider as good turnovers, the victims and their families wail and are forced to sell off their priced assets just to secure the release of their children and the president and his administration are absent and inactive in all of these. So you now see why Nigerians are angry with the present government at the centre.<\/p>\n
Above all else, Nigerians are aggrieved with the Federal government for not displaying enough empathy each time these terrorists attacked communities or schools and the citizens said they are disappointed with these tactless and unsympathetic commentaries emanating especially from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu whenever citizens are hauled into the forests by terrorists. Even when these reactions sound sympathetic, citizens demands accountability from the government by way of decisively crushing the terrorists and not just to engage in mere meaningless political rhetoric. <\/p>\n
The position of the majority of Nigerians demanding expressions of profound empathy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is justifiable and this writer will in the subsequent lines of this piece articulate and show a compilation of ten of such unsympathetic and insensitive comments made by President Tinubu following these kidnappings and violence by terrorists unleashed on the citizens.
\n10 Reactions of President Tinubu to Terrorist Attacks | May 2023 \u2013 May 2026:
\nWoro Village, Kwara State \u2013 June 2023
\nAttack: Gunmen killed up to 162 people, burned shops + traditional ruler\u2019s home. Tinubu blamed Boko Haram jihadists
\nReaction: Condemned the \u201cbeastly attack\u201d against villagers who rejected jihadists\u2019 ideology. Ordered an army battalion to secure the area. Said he was \u201cenraged that the attackers killed community members who rejected their obnoxious attempt at indoctrination\u201d
\nSource: Standard Media; Presidency statement <\/p>\n
Plateau State Communities \u2013 Dec 2023\/Jan 2024
\nAttack: \u201cMindless gunmen\u201d attacked Ruwi, Hurti, Tadai, Manguna, Dafo villages in Bokkos LGA
\nReaction: Vowed \u201csevere punishment under the law\u201d. Directed security agencies to hunt down attackers. Said \u201cintermittent attacks should have no place\u2026 we will work harder to exterminate forces of evil\u201d. Directed NEMA to provide relief
\nSource: State House Abuja <\/p>\n
Niger State \u2013 Kasuwan Daji, Demo Village \u2013 Dec 2024
\nAttack: Bandits killed over 30 people, burnt market, abducted women\/children
\nReaction: \u201cThese terrorists have tested the resolve of our country\u2026 They must face the full consequences\u2026 No matter who they are\u2026 they must be hunted down\u201d. Sent condolences + mandated security to intensify operations near forests
\nSource: AllAfrica; THISDAY.<\/p>\n
Benisheikh, Borno State \u2013 April 9, 2026
\nAttack: ISWAP attacked 3 military bases in Pulka, Mungono, Benisheikh. Commanding officer Brig-Gen Oseni Braimah + soldiers killed
\nReaction: Expressed \u201cdeep sorrow\u201d over fallen troops, called them \u201cunforgettable heroes\u201d. Said insurgents\u2019 counterattack shows \u201cdesperation\u201d. Urged troops: \u201cDo not lose heart, do not be weary\u2026 Our resolve to defeat terrorism is stronger than ever\u201d
\nSource: AllAfrica; Premium Times; TheStar <\/p>\n
Maiduguri, Borno State \u2013 March 17, 2026
\nAttack: Coordinated suicide bombings hit hospital, market, post office. 23+ killed
\nReaction: \u201cI mourn those who lost their lives\u2026 These acts of terror are the final desperate attempts by criminals\u2026 There is no place in Nigeria where terrorists will find safety. We will locate them, confront them, and completely defeat them. Nigeria will not succumb to fear\u201d. Directed security chiefs to move to Maiduguri + emergency agencies to care for injured
\nSource: State House Abuja <\/p>\n
Ngoshe, Gwoza LGA, Borno \u2013 March 6, 2026
\nAttack: Boko Haram attacked Ngoshe community. Military + civilians killed, some in friendly fire
\nReaction: \u201cHeartfelt condolences to families\u2026 attack is a heartless assault on hapless citizens\u201d. Urged Borno residents \u201cnot to succumb to fear\u201d. Commended military for killing scores of terrorists. Directed armed forces to \u201cintensify efforts to protect civilians\u2026 prevent attacks on military installations\u201d
\nSource: State House Abuja; Channels TV; Voice of Nigeria <\/p>\n
Angwan Rukuba, Jos North, Plateau \u2013 April 2, 2026
\nAttack: Suspected bandits attacked bar, 28 people died. Viral video of woman with son\u2019s body
\nReaction: Consoled families in Jos: \u201cThere is nothing I can give you, whether money in billions\u2026 but console you and promise you that this experience will not repeat itself\u2026 The best solution is for justice to be done\u201d. Directed security to \u201cunearth and find the killers\u201d + install cameras
\nSource: TheCable; The Nation <\/p>\n
Kahir Village, Kagarko LGA, Kaduna \u2013 April 2026
\nAttack: Wedding guests killed\/abducted
\nReaction: Condemned both Jos + Kahir attacks as \u201cbarbaric and cowardly\u201d, vowed perpetrators \u201cwould be brought to justice\u201d. \u201cAnyone who will sneak under cover of night and kill defenceless citizens\u2026 is a heartless coward\u201d
\nSource: The Nation <\/p>\n
Borno Military Formation \u2013 General Borno attack 2025\/2026
\nAttack: Repeated coordinated attacks on military positions in Borno
\nReaction: Commended \u201ccourage and fighting spirit of our patriotic troops who successfully repelled coordinated attacks\u201d. \u201cThe Monday attacks were desperate acts of evil-minded terrorist groups. Our gallant military will curtail and put them down\u201d
\nSource: State House Abuja <\/p>\n
General Counter-Terrorism Stance \u2013 2024 Summit
\nContext: No specific attack, but major policy statement
\nReaction: At African counter-terrorism summit, Tinubu said \u201cMay we do everything required to defeat this challenge so that\u2026 historians will discuss how today became a major turning point in Africa\u2019s defeat of terrorist scourge\u201d. Noted Nigeria is \u201cdealing decisively with drivers of violent extremism, resumed prosecution of Boko Haram suspects\u201d
\nSource: State House Abuja. <\/p>\n
What I can get from all of these reactions which at best represent motion without movement just like the barber’s chair is the famous phrase spoken by Macbeth in Act 5, Scene 5 after he learned that his wife, Lady Macbeth had died. His quote which also graphically demonstrates the lack of political will by President Tinubu to solve the persistent attacks by terrorists, goes thus: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”. <\/p>\n
These Reaction of President Tinubu to Terrorists attacks nationwide without following them up with actions to decimate these terrorists are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing really for the citizens who are facing horrendous violence of these terrorists that have appeared as if they are stronger than the Nigerian government. So, are these terrorists stronger than the current federal administration? Your guess is as good as mine. <\/p>\n
*EMMANUEL NNADOZIE ONWUBIKO, is the founder of HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA AND WAS NATIONAL COMMISSIONER OF THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF NIGERIA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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