President Bola Tinubu's recent activities have drawn sharp criticism from the camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who accused the president of "absentee leadership" following a string of brief public appearances and missed official events. Phrank Shaibu, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku, issued a statement yesterday lambasting Tinubu's 10-minute stop in Jos, Plateau State, after a deadly terrorist attack, describing it as "shockingly brief and perfunctory." The visit, according to Shaibu, lasted barely 10 minutes at Jos Airport before the president departed, fueling perceptions of indifference. The statement challenged the justification that Tinubu needed to return to Lagos for official duties, noting that his two-day working visit to Lagos has been marked by absence rather than engagement. Shaibu claimed the president remained "largely confined to his private residence," skipping key events including the commissioning of the Opebi–Mende–Ojota Link Bridge and the inauguration of a Multi-Agency Complex. These duties were delegated to Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The Atiku camp linked the perceived detachment to growing insecurity in Nigeria and recent precautionary measures taken by the United States Government regarding its personnel in the country. Shaibu described the administration as "detached, disengaged, and disturbingly casual" about governance responsibilities.
Atiku Abubakar's camp is not merely critiquing Bola Tinubu's schedule — it is weaponizing optics, zeroing in on the president's 10-minute Jos stop and his absence from major Lagos events to paint a narrative of a leader out of touch with national urgency. That the criticism comes from a likely 2027 political rival gives it sharper political teeth, especially as it ties Tinubu's visibility — or lack thereof — to worsening insecurity and even foreign government reactions. The mention of U.S. precautionary measures is not incidental; it frames domestic leadership as having tangible international consequences.
This is less about bridge commissionings and more about perception of presence. In a country where symbolism often doubles as substance in governance, a president who delegates high-profile duties to allies like Senate President Akpabio risks feeding the idea that core responsibilities are being outsourced. The argument that Tinubu is physically in Lagos but functionally absent hits harder because it aligns with existing public skepticism about elite detachment. When a leader skips visible milestones while citing "official work," it invites scrutiny over what counts as official work.
Ordinary Nigerians, particularly those in conflict-affected areas like Plateau State, are left measuring presidential concern in minutes on the ground. For them, the 10-minute visit isn't just brief — it feels like confirmation that their suffering doesn't warrant sustained attention. Urban residents in Lagos, meanwhile, see major infrastructure events handed to deputies, raising questions about presidential priorities.
This fits a longer pattern in Nigerian leadership: the tension between operational governance and public visibility. Tinubu's team may argue that work continues behind closed doors, but in an age of instant optics, absence from public duty is increasingly interpreted as absence of duty itself.
