Thursday, June 19, 2025 - Peter Obi has condemned the funfare displayed during President Tinubu's visit to Benue state over the recent attack that claimed over 150 lives.
Taking to his X handle, Obi shared a video of school
children in their uniform standing in the rain to welcome President Tinubu and
wrote;
‘’What has
happened to our compassion as a People ?
We pleaded
that the President should show Leadership and visit Benue and Niger States in
the spirit of deep national mourning, to offer compassion and solidarity to
families torn apart by the senseless massacre of over 200 innocent Nigerians in
Benue State and flooding that killed similar number in Niger State.
But what we
saw in Benue visit was instead of a solemn, reflective visit, a display that
would have been more befitting for the commissioning of reconstructed
Enugu-Makurdi highway, a critical road connecting South and Northern Nigeria
which had become impassable for years.
The
President arrived not in mourning cloth but in celebratory agbada attire, like
it was an occasion for joy.
Even more
heartbreaking is the role of the State. Rather than been in mourning mood and
weeping declared a public holiday, not for reflection or prayer, but to
organize fanfare. Schools were shut down. Children who should be mourning their
slaughtered classmates, and parents were instead lined up under the rain,
rehearsed to sing and dance for the President. In what kind of country does
this happen?
We have
tragically arrived at a point where condolence visits have become carnivals. A
time that should be marked by silence and solemnity is now polluted by banners,
music, and rehearsed spectacles. Precious Nigerian lives have been lost, yet
we’re clapping, singing, and organizing processions, as though this were a
campaign rally.
This is not
how any compassionate nation behaves. The energy, resources, and logistics
poured into this charade could have gone into food supplies, temporary
shelters, medical aid, school support, and trauma counselling for grieving
families. Instead, we chose optics over empathy.
Look
elsewhere: When President Ramaphosa visited Mthatha after the floods in South
Africa, there were no drums. No staged crowds. No rented cheers. Just presence,
silence, and action. When Prime Minister Modi went to the site of a crash, no
one lined up to welcome him. He came, he mourned, he acted. That is what
leadership looks like in moments of pain.
We must ask
ourselves: What kind of people have we become?
Enough of
this culture of impunity. We are not at war yet our nation is bleeding, and we
are clapping. It is not only insensitive, it is dangerous.
Let us not
forget: These were human beings, children, mothers, fathers whose blood cries
out for justice.
When very
sad incidents like this turns to campaign or festival, our Nation Losing Its
Soul.
A new
Nigeria is POssible! -PO''
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