Our Reporter, Abuja
A co-guest speaker at the Ikenga November virtual townhall, Professor Moses Ochonu, has accused President Bola Tinubu of prioritising his 2027 political calculations over taking decisive action against terrorists responsible for mass killings in both Christian and Muslim communities across Nigeria.
Speaking during the Thursday townhall themed “Alleged Genocide, Trump’s Threat and the Propaganda against Ndigbo,” the US-based historian said debates over whether the attacks amount to genocide miss the point for ordinary Nigerians, who only want to know “what the government is doing to keep them safe.”
Ochonu argued that the administration’s “non-kinetic approach” to terrorism is essentially a policy of surrender and appeasement. He blamed National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu for promoting what he called an “absurd” strategy that has failed to confront extremist groups.
“The government has not been doing much. The government, rather, has been preoccupied with the politics of 2027,” he said.
“Anything that appears to threaten their 2027 plans is discarded. It prevents courageous action.”
He noted that while Tinubu cannot be directly accused of orchestrating or intentionally enabling the killings, his refusal to take bold steps amounts to “indirect complicity.”
“Tinubu is an intensely transactional politician. Anything his strategists think would undermine his chance of winning the next election, he wouldn’t go near it,” he said.
“If people are dying, he doesn’t care as long as his ambition materialises.”
Ochonu also criticised Tinubu’s repeated calls for attacked communities—particularly in Benue State—to “live in peace with their neighbours,” describing the advice as an insult in the wake of massacres.
He urged the government to stop politicising security and “cultivate the political will to go after the terrorists with the full military might of the Nigerian state.”
According to him, Tinubu’s cautious posture—even in announcing new security measures—shows a leader still “threading the needle” instead of taking decisive actions such as pushing for an outright ban on open grazing.
“He rammed through taxation bills when he wanted to tax Nigerians more. Why not do the same on security?” Ochonu asked.
He warned that Nigeria faces “a life-and-death struggle” that cannot be resolved if national security continues to be filtered through the lens of political survival.
