NIGERIA is no longer a nation in distress; it is a state at its dead end. The recent blood-curdling terrorist attacks in Jos, Plateau State, have not only exposed the hollow shell of our national security but have ripped the mask off a leadership that is now chillingly immune to the screams of its people.
When the blood of the innocent is used to water the soil of the Middle Belt, and the state responds with a yawn, we are no longer talking about administrative lapse—we are witnessing a moral abdication that borders on complicity.
The Architecture of Indifference
For 72 hours following the massacre in Jos, the highest office in the land remained a vacuum. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not visit; he did not offer a syllable of consolation. While families in Unguwan Rukuba sat in the dust clutching the cooling bodies of their children, the Presidency’s media handlers maintained a curated, icy silence.
This is the new Nigerian reality: a leadership that has perfected the art of governance by ignore.
This indifference is mirrored at the state level. The Governor of Plateau State, in a display of staggering cowardice, visited the scene—a mere five-minute drive from his office—only after 60 hours.
Even then, he refused to touch the ground of the grieving. He remained ensconced in the luxury of a heavily guarded armored tank, peering out at the broken masses through bulletproof glass. When a leader is too afraid or too arrogant to stand on the same earth as his grieving subjects, he has surrendered his right to lead them.
The “Prodigal Son” Doctrine: Rewarding the Butcher
Perhaps the most harrowing aspect of our current nightmare is the shifting language of the state. We are now living in an era where the line between the protector and the predator has blurred into non-existence.
When National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu refers to terrorists as “brothers,” and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) characterizes cold-blooded killers as “prodigal sons,” the message to the Nigerian citizen is clear: Your life is a footnote; the terrorist’s rehabilitation is the priority.
We have reached a nadir where former military top brass suggests that “repented” terrorists could eventually ascend to the Presidency. This is not reconciliation; it is a surrender. It creates a perverse incentive structure where one can massacre citizens at will, only to be rewarded with reintegration, military uniforms, and the promise of future political power.
Meanwhile, the survivors—the real victims—are left to rot in the squalor of IDP camps, forgotten by the state and forsaken by justice.
The Genocide Reality
The international community is taking note, even if Abuja is not. The U.S. government’s assertions regarding ongoing genocide in Nigeria are no longer debatable theories; they are reinforced daily by the mounting body bags. When a specific demographic is systematically hunted while the state apparatus offers “amnesty” and “understanding” to the hunters, the technical definition of genocide is met.
The security architecture of Nigeria has become a “confusion at the top.” We have a leadership that is:
Sullen to Angst: Dismissive of the public’s legitimate rage. Tragically, the government of President Tinubu is treating mass murder as a PR inconvenience rather than a national emergency. Prioritizing the “rights” of the Fulani terrorists over the survival of the citizen is an admittance of State-sponsored terrorism.
The Dead End
Nigeria cannot survive a leadership that treats the Presidency as a ceremonial reward rather than a burden of protection. Accountability is not optional. If the current Defence leadership cannot differentiate between a “brother” and a “bandit,” they must be purged from the halls of power.
The mother in Unguwan Rukuba, whispering to her dead child in the silence of the Plateau, is the true face of Nigeria today. She is a citizen of a country that has stolen her future and offered her a birthday greeting from the President in return.
The time for “comprehensive reports” and “prayers” has expired. We demand a leadership that is present, a military that is lethal to its enemies, and a government that fears the tears of its people more than the tantrums of terrorists. Anything less is an invitation to total collapse.
Dr. Drama, PhD Counterterrorism contributed this piece via: Nigeriandrama@gmail.com
