Tinubu’s decision to deploy Nigerian warplanes and elite troops to crush a fleeting military mutiny in neighbouring Benin on 7 December 2025 has triggered an explosive backlash at home, with British politician George Galloway crystallising public anger in a viral video:
“Tinubu sent warplanes to save the President of Benin but can’t stop Boko Haram from slaughtering Nigerians.”
The 45-second clip, posted on X on Sunday and viewed over 12 million times within 24 hours, struck a raw nerve as fresh reports emerged of jihadist attacks in Borno and Kaduna states that killed dozens of villagers the same week.
While Benin’s government hailed Nigeria’s lightning response under the ECOWAS defence pact, which helped loyalist forces retake the national broadcaster within hours, many Nigerians questioned why similar urgency is rarely shown against domestic insurgents who have terrorised the north-east for over a decade.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga insisted the operation was a legal and strategic necessity: “Regional stability is national security.
Nigeria cannot watch a neighbour fall into chaos on its border.”
Yet opposition voices and ordinary citizens flooded social media with the trending hashtag #TinubuSaveNigeriaFirst, accusing the government of misplaced priorities while bandits and terrorists continue to collect “taxes” and abduct schoolchildren across northern states.
“The Nigerian Military can be spared to attack Benin but they can’t keep peace and stop ISIS in their own country, what kind of President is that” —George Galloway Blasts TinubuREAD ALSO: Enough is Enough— NLC Declares Nationwide Protest Over Rising Insecurity, School Abduction
As the debate rages, Galloway’s blunt accusation has become the rallying cry for a growing chorus demanding the same military resolve shown in Cotonou be turned toward Sambisa Forest and other insurgent strongholds inside Nigeria.
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