Over 30 people were killed in a violent attack on the Gari Ya Waye community in Angwan Rukuba, Jos, last Sunday. Five days later, President Bola Tinubu visited the city to meet families of the victims. Instead of visiting the affected community, the grieving families were transported to the airport to meet him. During the brief encounter, Tinubu complained about the heat in the airport hall due to power failure and stated he had only ten minutes to spend with them. He added that there was only so much he could do to alleviate their suffering. The visit drew sharp criticism for its insensitivity and poor optics. It echoed past incidents where the president avoided visiting attack sites, including Benue State in June 2025 and the Woro community in Kwara following mass killings. In March, he traveled to the UK shortly after a bombing in Maiduguri. His actions in Jos have reignited concerns over his administration's handling of Nigeria's worsening security crisis.
Meeting grieving families at an airport tarmac while complaining about discomfort speaks volumes about Bola Tinubu's detachment. This was not a failure of logistics but a display of ingrained indifference. When a president treats empathy as a time-limited obligation, it confirms to Nigerians that their pain is secondary to political image management. No amount of box-ticking can mask the depth of alienation this administration has deepened.
