Labour Party leader, Peter Obi, has strongly criticized the way President Bola Ahmed Tinubu handled his recent visit to Benue State following the massacre of over 200 innocent Nigerians by suspected armed herdsmen.
In a heartfelt statement posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Obi described the visit as a carnival disguised as a condolence visit. He questioned whether Nigerians as a people have lost their sense of humanity and compassion.
“When condolence turns carnival, what has happened to our compassion as a people?” Obi asked.
He said Nigerians had hoped to see a President arrive in mourning, dressed in modest attire, ready to comfort families torn apart by violence and grief. Instead, the President showed up in celebratory agbada, as if attending a joyful occasion.
Even more disturbing, Obi noted, was the role of the Benue State Government. Rather than declaring a public holiday for reflection or prayer, the government organized a fanfare. Schools were shut down, and children who should be mourning the loss of classmates were lined up under the rain to sing and dance for the President.
Obi said this is not how any nation that values human life should behave. According to him, the time, energy, and money spent on banners, music, and spectacle could have been used to provide food, temporary shelters, medical help, and trauma support for affected families.
He compared the event to how other world leaders behave during national tragedies. In South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa visited flood victims in silence, without fanfare or staged crowds. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited a crash site without celebration. There were no cameras, no rehearsed chants—just presence, grief, and swift action.
“That is what leadership looks like in moments of pain. Presence. Silence. Action,” Obi wrote.
He warned that Nigeria is becoming dangerously desensitized to tragedy. When lives are lost and the response is music and choreography, the nation is not only grieving poorly—it is slowly losing its soul.
“We are not at war, yet our land is soaked with blood. And instead of silence, we beat drums,” he said.
Obi closed his message with a powerful reminder that the people who died were not just statistics. They were children, mothers, fathers. And their blood cries out for justice, not applause.
“When sad events like this turn to campaign rallies, our nation is losing its soul.“
