Atiku Abubakar, former vice president and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has called on President Bola Tinubu to prioritise the rescue of abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State over distributing palliatives. In a statement issued Wednesday and signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku criticised the government's reported decision to send officials with bags of rice to affected families. He described the gesture as insensitive, saying parents wanted their children back, not handouts. Atiku condemned the administration's response as a sign of moral failure and ineffective leadership. "Parents whose children have been torn from their arms are not asking for rice," he said. "Mothers who do not know whether their children are hungry, sick, traumatized, or even alive are not demanding palliatives." He stressed that families needed action, leadership, and a government capable of rescuing the victims and prosecuting the perpetrators. Atiku referred to the abductions as evidence of Nigeria's descent into a state where citizens' lives are undervalued. He criticised what he described as propaganda and token gestures replacing practical solutions. "While criminals operate with audacity, the official response is the distribution of rice," he said. The former vice president said every hour the children remain in captivity is a stain on those responsible for their protection. He noted that fear had become routine for Nigerian families, with parents budgeting for ransom the same way they budget for school fees. Atiku urged President Tinubu to immediately direct security and intelligence agencies to secure the unconditional release of the captives. He said the government must stop treating such abductions as routine news events.
Atiku criticises Tinubu's government for sending rice to families while children remain in captivity, exposing a disconnect between official actions and public needs. The gesture offers no comfort to parents who cannot sleep knowing their children are missing. If security agencies are not actively rescuing the abducted, then palliatives only signal defeat. The state's priority should be action, not appearances.
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