Nigeria’s former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the Federal Government’s reported response to the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State, urging President Bola Tinubu to prioritize their rescue rather than distributing relief materials to affected families.
Atiku described the incident as unfortunate reflection of the worsening security situation in the country, arguing that insecurity under the current administration had become normalized rather than treated as a national emergency.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku expressed worries over reports that government officials were dispatched with bags of rice and other palliatives to families whose children and loved ones remain in captivity.
According to him, such a response demonstrated a lack of empathy and leadership at a time when desperate families were seeking the safe return of their children.
“The cruelty of such a response is difficult to comprehend,” Atiku said.
“Parents whose children have been torn from their arms are not asking for rice. Mothers who do not know whether their children are hungry, sick, traumatized, or even alive are not demanding palliatives. Fathers who wake up every morning praying for a phone call announcing the safe return of their children are not looking for handouts.”
He maintained that what the affected families require is decisive government action, effective leadership, and a coordinated security response capable of securing the release of the abducted pupils and teachers.
The former vice president lamented what he described as the government’s growing reliance on public relations measures rather than practical solutions to security challenges, noting that innocent Nigerians continue to bear the consequences of criminal activities while authorities struggle to contain the threats.
“It is a damning verdict on this government that while criminals operate with audacity and freedom, innocent schoolchildren are abducted from their classrooms and the official response is the distribution of rice,” he stated.
“This is not governance. This is an abdication of responsibility. It is a tragic confession of failure by an administration that seems increasingly overwhelmed by the very duties it swore to perform.”
Mr Atiku further stressed that every kidnapping leaves deep emotional and psychological scars on families and communities, warning against reducing such tragedies to mere statistics.
According to him, behind every abducted child is a family living in fear and uncertainty, while entire communities remain traumatized by the absence of adequate protection.
“These children are not numbers on a government spreadsheet. They are the hopes of families. They are the future of our nation,” he said.
