Timi Frank, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Tuesday took a swipe at President Bola Tinubu over his United Kingdom state visit amid the bomb attacks in Maiduguri.
Over 23 persons died in the incident, with many more injured.
Tinubu departed Nigeria for the UK on a state visit in the instance of King Charles III.
Reacting, Frank described the Borno bombing as “a tragic, blood-soaked verdict on a failing security architecture in the country”.
“This is not just another attack—it is a national emergency,” Frank declared. “Our people are being slaughtered, our soldiers are under relentless assault, yet the President is preparing for a ceremonial outing in the UK. That is not leadership; that is abdication of responsibility.”
According to Frank, Tinubu’s trip to the UK at such a moment amounts to “a cruel abandonment of grieving citizens”.
“No responsible leader boards a plane to wine, dine, and dance when his country is burying its dead,” he said. “A President with empathy goes to Maiduguri, not London. He stands with victims, not with banquet hosts.”
“The UK is not ignorant of Nigeria’s reality,” Frank added.
“It knows about the escalating insecurity, the mass unemployment strangling millions, and the catastrophic electricity crisis that has crippled industries. It is also aware of deepening concerns over democratic backsliding—a National Assembly and judiciary many believe have been weakened and silenced, and a political system tilting dangerously towards a one-party state.
“Yet, in the face of all this, Britain rolls out the red carpet. That is not diplomacy—it is complicity. It is a celebration in the face of tragedy.
“It is also aware of growing concerns about the state of democracy, including allegations that Nigeria is drifting towards a one-party system under Tinubu, with both the National Assembly and judiciary weakened and silenced.
“Nigeria is in mourning. This is a moment for leadership, compassion, and decisive action—not foreign trips, not pageantry, not political theater. Any president who chooses celebration over solidarity at a time like this has lost the moral right to lead.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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