Plateau Massacre: PDP faults Tinubu’s refusal to visit communities

Hon. Debo Ologunagba, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, stated this in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja.

He said the PDP is outraged by President Tinubu’s refusal to display human empathy and leadership by visiting Plateau State’s afflicted people.

According to the party, his unwillingness to visit the scene contributes to reinforcing unsettling public insinuations of high-level culpability in the attacks.

Ologunagba said, “The PDP is concerned as Nigerians raise puzzling questions as to what was responsible for the failure of intelligence before and during the coordinated massacre, which went on for over 48 hours.

“Of further concern is the fact that Nigerians are also raising issues on these apprehensions by referring to the statement attributed to former military head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha, on the possibility of complicity by officials of a government in an unrestrained insurgency or crisis such as witnessed in the Plateau State massacre.

“President Tinubu must therefore allay fears and concerns about the above by immediately visiting the affected communities and personally addressing the nation on concrete steps to track down the perpetrators and their sponsors.

“It smacks of grave insensitivity and dereliction of duty for Mr. President, as the Commander-in-Chief, to remain silent in the face of the targeted massacre of his citizens without defense and assistance.

“The President even failed to play his expected role as “Consoler-in-Chief” by not immediately visiting the troubled areas to demonstrate leadership, empathy, and connection with the citizens.”

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The party spokesman further said, “Instead of sending his aides to issue lame statements and detailing surrogates to visit after much prodding, President Tinubu should have personally visited the scene of the genocide as a matter of duty to give succor to the families of the dead and the wounded, as well as reassure that his government is with the people of the affected communities in particular and Plateau State in general.

“Of course, the whole world witnessed the video of President Joe Biden kneeling before the daughter of George Floyd to offer his condolences on behalf of the United States for the brutal murder of her father. President Tinubu ought to have drawn a lesson from that.

“The apparent lack of empathy and the tokenism of sending proxies to Plateau State is an unacceptable and clear manifestation of insensitivity by a president who remains unconcerned and fiddles in the comfort, luxury, and pleasure of the presidential villa while his citizens are mercilessly being brutalized and massacred by terrorists. President Tinubu must wake up from his slumber and be alive to his responsibility as president.

“The PDP also reiterates its call for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the Genocide, an international crime perpetuated on the peaceful, defenseless, and innocent people of Plateau State on Christmas eve.”