As the Federal Government continues to issue statements of sympathy and condemnation over global crises — including condolences to India over recent tragedies and commentary on the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran — a growing number of Nigerians are asking why the same empathy is not extended to victims of violence within the country’s own borders.
A series of brutal attacks reportedly left scores dead in Benue State, one of the hardest-hit regions in Nigeria’s long-running farmer-herder crisis. Yet, despite the scale of the massacre and rising public outcry, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his administration have remained notably silent.
“Where are the President’s words for the people of Benue?” asked one commentator on social media. “Why is there no national address, no visit, no official condemnation?”
The silence has sparked outrage among citizens and human rights groups, who argue that the government’s muted response to domestic tragedies betrays a dangerous neglect of its constitutional duty to protect lives and uphold justice.
The Tinubu administration’s foreign policy activism, while praised by some as a sign of Nigeria’s diplomatic re-engagement on the global stage, has increasingly been viewed as tone-deaf when juxtaposed with worsening insecurity at home.
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Critics argue that Tinubu’s government appears more eager to perform on the international stage than to address the bloodshed occurring in central Nigeria, where communities are being ravaged by unrelenting violence.
Until the government acknowledges and acts on the crisis in Benue and other affected regions, many Nigerians fear that the cycle of silence — and slaughter — will continue.
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