Atiku Condemns Tinubu's Plateau Visit as Superficial and Insensitive
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has launched a scathing critique of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's recent condolence visit to Plateau State, alleging that the trip was severely limited in scope and failed to provide meaningful engagement with communities affected by recent violence. Through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the presidential visit as inadequate and insensitive during a period of national mourning.
Allegations of Limited Engagement and Political Prioritization
Atiku expressed deep concern about what he characterized as a pattern of insufficient engagement during national tragedies. According to his statement, President Tinubu's visit to Plateau State did not extend beyond the airport perimeter, failing to reach grieving communities or directly interact with victims of the recent attacks. The former vice-president questioned the sincerity of what was supposed to be an "on-the-spot assessment" of the security situation.
"It is both shocking and deeply insensitive that several days after the gruesome killings of innocent citizens, the President's so-called 'on-the-spot assessment' was reduced to a brief stop at the foot of his aircraft," the statement read. "The visit never extended beyond the airport, never reached the grieving communities, and never touched the pain of the victims."
Atiku further alleged that the visit appeared to have been deliberately shortened to accommodate the President's travel plans. "Even more troubling is the impression that this fleeting visit was hurriedly curtailed to allow the President to proceed to Lagos for the Easter holidays," he stated, suggesting this reflected "a deeply troubling prioritization in the face of national grief."
Political Undertones and Pattern of Behavior
The former vice-president criticized what he described as the politicization of the condolence visit, alleging that President Tinubu's engagements in Plateau State focused more on meeting party stakeholders than comforting affected victims. Atiku claimed this approach transformed what should have been a solemn occasion into a political spectacle.
"While families continue to mourn those slaughtered on Palm Sunday, the President chose to convert what ought to have been a solemn visit into a political spectacle," Atiku asserted. "This is not leadership; it is indifference dressed as protocol."
Atiku drew parallels between the Plateau visit and what he described as similar conduct during a previous condolence trip to Benue State in June 2025. According to his statement, that earlier visit avoided the epicenter of violence in Yelwata and instead devolved into a political rally. "The repetition of this pattern is no longer accidental, it is now a consistent and troubling habit," the statement emphasized.
Security Concerns and Lack of Concrete Action
Beyond criticizing the scope of the visit, Atiku faulted the absence of substantive policy direction and security interventions during President Tinubu's time in Plateau State. He noted that the President neither visited bereaved families nor injured victims receiving hospital treatment, nor did he offer concrete reassurances about preventing future attacks.
"In Plateau, the President neither visited the bereaved families nor the injured receiving treatment in hospitals," Atiku stated. "He offered no concrete policy direction, no decisive security intervention, and no reassurance that such horrors would not recur."
The statement also criticized reported movements of residents to facilitate the presidential visit, suggesting such actions reduced genuine human tragedy to a choreographed spectacle. "At a time when families are in deep mourning, such actions reduce genuine human tragedy to a choreographed spectacle—prioritizing optics over empathy and dignity," Atiku declared. "This is not only inappropriate; it is shameful."
Call for Substantive Governance Over Symbolic Gestures
Atiku concluded his critique by emphasizing that Nigerians require more than ceremonial appearances from their leadership. He urged the Tinubu administration to move beyond symbolic gestures and implement decisive, people-centered actions that genuinely address security challenges.
"Nigerians are not asking for ceremonial appearances or fleeting sympathy visits," the statement read. "What they demand and deserve is a government that can secure lives and property. They do not need to see the President's face; they need to feel the impact of his leadership."
The former vice-president stressed that meaningful action must replace what he characterized as superficial engagements. "Until this administration moves beyond optics and embraces decisive, people-centered action, such visits will remain hollow exercises, detached from the very citizens they are meant to comfort," Atiku concluded.
This criticism comes amid ongoing security challenges in Plateau State and other regions of Nigeria, with citizens increasingly demanding tangible solutions rather than symbolic gestures from political leadership. The exchange highlights growing tensions between political figures regarding appropriate responses to national crises.
