Benue massacre: ‘Tinubu chose optics rather than empathy’ —obi

Former Governor of the State Anambra and Presidential Candidate from the Labor Party (LP), in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, accused the President of the Tinubu Bola of choosing “optics” during his visit to the state of Benue for violence and mass murder in the state by the alleged militia Fulani.

Obi, who raised his concern in a post that he shared in the Handke of X verified on Thursday, accused Tinubu of wearing celebration clothes to the state instead of mourning cloth to sympathize with people.

He stated that what should be a solemn opportunity was turned into a party carnival.

He also frowned in a situation where school children were made to stand under the rain to welcome the president while different groups were seen clapping and dancing in the mourning period.

In the post entitled “What happens to our compassion as the people?”, Obi said the President should show compassion and solidarity for people who are grieving in the state instead of changing visits into celebrations and parties.

“We ask that the president must show leadership and visit the state of Benue and Niger in the spirit of deep national mourning, to offer compassion and solidarity to families who are separate by unreasonable massacres of more than 200 innocent Nigerians in the Benue state and floods that kill the same amount in the state of Niger,” Obi wrote.

“But what we see during a benue visit is not a solemn and reflective visit, a display that will be more suitable for the reconstructed Enugurdi highway, critical road that connects South and North Nigeria which has become impossible for years.

“The president arrived not with grieved cloth but in the clothing of the agbada celebration, like that was an opportunity for joy.”

He also swiped the Benue state government because it stated a public holiday to welcome the President instead of having a conscious reflection on the disaster that had befallen the country a few days before.

Also read: Lawyers accuse Nigerian army of training the militia group behind mass murder in Benue, nasarawa

“What is more heartbreaking is the role of the state. Instead of grief in mood and crying, declaring public holidays, not for reflection or prayer, but to regulate the hubbub.

“The school is closed. Children who should have grieved over their classmates who were slaughtered, and parents instead lined up under the rain, practicing to sing and dance for the president. In what kind of country this happens?

“We have tragic tragically to the point where condolences have become carnival. The time that must be marked by silence and sincerity is now polluted by banners, music, and glasses that are trained.

“Nigeria’s valuable life has been lost, but we clap, sing, and manage the procession, as if this is a campaign rally.

“This is not how the nation that is compassionate behaves. Energy, resources, and logistics flowing into this play can enter the supply of food, temporary shelters, medical assistance, school support, and trauma counseling for mourning families. Conversely, we choose optics rather than empathy.

“Look at other places: When the President of Ramaphosa visited Mthatha after flooding in South Africa, no drums. No crowd was staged. There were no rented cheers. Presence, silence, and action.

“When the Prime Minister Modi went to the location of the accident, no one lined up to welcome him. He came, he mourned, he acted. That’s the appearance of leadership at the time of pain.

“We have to ask ourselves: what kind of person we become? Enough this culture of impunity. We have not fought but our nation is bleeding, and we clap. This is not only insensitive, it’s dangerous.

“Don’t forget: this is a human, child, mother, father whose blood shouted for justice. When a very sad incident like this turned into a campaign or festival, our nation lost his soul.”