- The scant regard for the lives of Nigerians has become an enduring feature of the Tinubu presidency.
To be a leader, compassion and empathy are as important as competence and capacity. But the Nigerian political terrain seems to be short on leaders with compassion and empathy. They are a scarce commodity in our part of the world and their near absence among our political class and ruling elites is responsible for the disdainful and pathetic many Nigerians are treated in their own country by their leader.
The recent flood disaster in Mokwa in Nigeria’s Middle Belt State of Niger which has now claimed over 200 lives, has once again played up the jarring lack of empathy among those elected by the people to manage the nation’s affairs. Since the reports of the devastating flood and the destruction it engendered filtered through to the public, President Bola Tinubu has not deemed it fit to visit Niger State, let alone the local government where the disaster happened to condole the beleaguered people.
Some may argue that his visit to Niger State will not bring back the dead or magically address the flooding problem, but the problem with this kind of reasoning is that it cheapens the memory of the victims and somewhat justifies the president and, to some extent, public officials disregard for Nigerian lives. The president’s visit will definitely not bring back the lives of the dead but it will give the family of the dead and the affected communities a sense of worth and make them feel valued. It will also serve as an emotional support for them during this turbulent period of their lives.
We can’t blame the president or the governor for a natural disaster. There is nothing they can do about it but because they can’t control nature. However, their response to the disaster has been uninspiring and concerning. This is not the first huge loss of lives of Nigerians, whether in the hands of armed non-state actors or caused by natural disasters, will be met with unsettling cold indifference or a perfunctory terse statement from the government. Even more worrisome is the State governor to depart the country for Saudi Arabia to perform this year’s Hajj while his State experiences the worst flood in its history.
The scant regard for the lives of Nigerians has become an enduring feature of the Tinubu presidency. One may have been tempted to overlook this grave shortcoming if the nation and the people were basking in an ocean of prosperity and abundance under him and not grappling with severe economic hardship and existential cost of living crisis. One would expect that a government that has performed woefully on the economic front should at least be able to show up and show empathy towards the people facing a natural disaster.
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