President Bola Tinubu met with victims of recent attacks in Plateau State at Jos airport on Thursday evening, a move the Presidency defended as both strategic and necessary. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga explained the meeting took place near the airport due to the president's tight schedule, which included hosting Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno at the Presidential Villa earlier that day. The bilateral meeting with Déby ran longer than expected, delaying Tinubu's departure for Jos. Upon arrival, flight restrictions and the lack of navigational aids preventing night landings meant the president could not travel into the city and return safely before dusk.
Instead, officials arranged for victims and community leaders to be brought to a hall adjacent to the airport. The meeting included the Minister of Defence, Chief of Army Staff, and Inspector General of Police, all of whom had earlier visited Rukuba, the epicentre of the violence. Tinubu expressed condolences, listened to survivors, and assured them of justice. He also pledged the deployment of 5,000 AI-enabled cameras to improve surveillance in Jos. Community leaders were invited to Abuja for further discussions on ending the long-standing conflict.
Holding a high-stakes meeting at an airport hall because of scheduling conflicts and flight limitations exposes how reactive rather than resolved the presidency's crisis response can be. President Tinubu promised 5,000 AI-enabled cameras, but without addressing intelligence gaps and local grievances, surveillance alone won't stop the bloodshed in Plateau. The visit may have reassured some, but it also revealed the limits of symbolism when logistics dictate the location of national healing.
