Tinubu Reacts After Meeting Massacred Citizens’ Relatives At Jos Airport

Name: Tinubu Reacts After Meeting Massacred Citizens’ Relatives At Jos Airport
Uploaded: 2026-04-09T20:40:05+00:00
Duration: 16 min 52 s
Channel: OsazuwaAkonedo

00:00Nigeria President, Bola Ahmed Tanubu has given reasons why he could not visit the Angwin-Rakuba community,

00:07the scene some citizens were massacred by terrorists on Palm Sunday, saying,

00:12upon arrival in Joss, the visit encountered some logistical challenges,

00:16while the road distance from the airport to Joss township is approximately 40 minutes,

00:21the runway does not support night flights due to the absence of navigational aids,

00:26the constraints made it unfeasible to drive into town, meet victims for on-the-spot assessment

00:31and return to the airport before dusk, consequently, state and federal officials decided to bring

00:37representatives of the affected community to a hall adjoining the airport so the president could meet

00:42with them promptly while adhering to flight restrictions, swiftly, Peter Obi, former governor

00:48of Anambra state and the Labour Party presidential candidate in the last general elections in Nigeria,

00:55said, during his visit to Benawai state in June 2025, Bola Ahmed Tanubu stopped at the government

01:02house but did not go to the actual scene where innocent Nigerians lost their lives, similarly,

01:09in Joss, his engagement ended at the airport instead of at the affected communities,

01:14at a time when Nigerians are enduring days without power, our leaders cannot even stay a few minutes

01:20without it, now is the time to stop incompetent leaders, those lacking the capacity and compassion,

01:26who prioritize their own comfort over the well-being of the people and make empty promises,

01:32on the other hand, Atiku Abu Bakar, the former vice president of Nigeria and the last general elections

01:38presidential candidate of the People's Democratic Party, PDP, demanded President Bola Ahmed Tanubu act as

01:46the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and stated how dozens have continued to be killed in

01:52Benawai state less than 72 hours, and other killings in Kaduna state and thousands of people

01:58seen running away at a community in Nasarawa state after the president had visited Plato state and

02:05promised such attack wouldn't occur again, according to Atiku Abu Bakar. I wish to remind President Bola

02:11Tanubu to keep to his words that, this Angwin-Rakuba attack will not repeat itself, it does appear that

02:18those words are hollow because barely 72 hours, another attack in Benawai state claimed over a dozen lives,

02:25the commander-in-chief should brace up to the challenges of governance. President Bola Ahmed Tanubu,

02:31through the office of the special advisor to the president on information and strategy,

02:36Bayo Onanuga on April 3, 2026 in a statement said, President Tanubu's itinerary for Thursday

02:43included two main engagements, receiving the Chadian president, Mahamat Idris Debi Idno,

02:49and proceeding to Iperu, Ogun state. After Governor Caleb Muffong's briefing, President Tanubu suspended

02:57the trip to Ogun. Overnight, the presidential villa made arrangements for the visit to Joss,

03:02with presidential assets quickly deployed. However, the president could not postpone the scheduled

03:09visit by the Chadian leader. The president of Chad was at the presidential villa for a very important

03:15bilateral meeting focused on strengthening security collaboration between the two countries.

03:21The meeting ran longer than expected, affecting President Tanubu's scheduled departure for Joss.

03:27Upon arrival in Joss, the visit encountered some logistical challenges.

03:32While the road distance from the airport to Joss Township is approximately 40 minutes,

03:37the runway does not support night flights due to the absence of navigational aids.

03:42The constraints made it unfeasible to drive into town, meet victims for on-the-spot assessment

03:48and return to the airport before dusk. Consequently, state and federal officials decided to bring

03:54representatives of the affected community to a hall adjoining the airport so the president could

03:59meet with them promptly while adhering to flight restrictions. Among the people in the hall

04:05were the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Army Staff and the Inspector General of Police,

04:10who had visited Rekuba, the epicenter of the conflict. President Tanubu deployed the high-level

04:16team to Rekuba, including the Senior Special Assistant on Community Engagement, to undertake critical

04:23groundwork on security and community engagement, with a view to stabilizing the area before his arrival.

04:29Beyond expressing his condolences to the victims, President Tanubu's objective was to engage with

04:35critical stakeholders in Plateau State on ending the recurring, decades-old conflict that has

04:41resulted in needless loss of lives and property. President Tanubu's visit to Joss was not merely

04:47symbolic, it was a strategic, high-level engagement aimed at bringing all stakeholders together to address

04:53the root causes of conflict and insecurity in the state. He interacted with the victims, consoled

05:00them, and listened to them. He also listened to local leaders and assured them that the federal

05:05government would deliver justice and end the cycle of violence. He promised the deployment of 5,000

05:12and I enabled cameras to monitor the city and enhanced the identification and arrest of

05:16troublemakers. Furthermore, the President invited the community leaders to Abuja for further talks on

05:23finding a lasting solution to the recurring violence in the state. The meeting, televised life,

05:29was solemn and reassuring, boosting residents' confidence. President Tanubu achieved the purpose of

05:36his visit, despite the naysayers' attempts to ridicule it. He dropped an unmistakable message,

05:42sustainable peace must be built with the people, not imposed on them. Reacting, Peter Obi said,

05:49during the 2023 campaign, President Tanubu made a clear electoral promise, if I don't give you

05:55constant electricity in four years, don't vote for me for a second term. When he took office in 2023,

06:03Nigeria had a power supply of over 4,000 megawatts and lower tariffs. Today, the electricity power

06:10supply is less than 4,000 megawatts on the average, and Nigerians are paying higher tariffs. Nigeria

06:18currently has the lowest per capita electricity consumption in the world, with a rate below 30%

06:23of the African average. Africa's average is 617 kWh, Nigeria's is 144 kWh. This means that Nigerians

06:36consume least electricity than other Africans. In a glaring display of disregard for promises and the

06:42lack of trust, President Tanubu, during a brief airport stopover to visit grieving families of the

06:48attack on Thursday, April 2, 2026, stated that one of the reasons for his 10-minute stay was that the

06:55airport had no electricity. You have no light here I fly out in 10 minutes, at a time when Nigerians

07:02are enduring days without power, our leaders cannot even stay a few minutes without it. Now is the time

07:09to stop incompetent leaders, those lacking the capacity and compassion, who prioritize their own

07:15comfort over the well-being of the people and make empty promises. During his visit to Benaway State

07:21in June 2025, Bola Ahmed Tanubu stopped at the government house but did not go to the actual

07:27scene where innocent Nigerians lost their lives. Similarly, yesterday in Joss, his engagement ended

07:35at the airport instead of at the affected communities. What happened in Plata yesterday highlights a

07:41complete absence of leadership. True leadership requires presence, empathy, compassion, and a

07:47willingness to meet people where their pain truly lies. For citizens who have just lost loved ones,

07:53homes, and their sense of safety, being addressed from an airport tarmac is profoundly inadequate.

07:59This approach exacerbates the sense of abandonment already felt by innocent Nigerians who have endured

08:06repeated cycles of violence without meaningful protection or justice. Plato deserves more than

08:12distant words. It requires urgent action and a clear commitment to ending the insecurity that

08:18continues to claim innocent lives. In such moments, leadership must not only be visible but also

08:24tangible, standing with victims, listening to survivors, and acknowledging the depth of the grief.

08:30If we truly desire a better Nigeria, we must demand leadership that is present, responsive,

08:37and responsible at all times. We must resist the suffocation of our democracy by those who once

08:43claimed to have sacrificed to defend it, but are now doing everything possible to undermine it and

08:49silence opposition. History will not be kind to those who traded the struggle for democracy for the

08:55comfort of power. We will not remain silent, we will not be intimidated, and we will not surrender the

09:01future of this nation. The will of the people must prevail, stronger, louder, and impossible to

09:08suppress. Atiku Abu Bakr said, I wish to remind President Bola Tanubu to keep to his words that,

09:15this, Angwin-Rakuba attack will not repeat itself. It does appear that those words are hollow because

09:21barely 72 hours, another attack in Benue State claimed over a dozen lives. The commander-in-chief

09:28should brace up to the challenges of governance. I am also concerned, like all well-meaning Nigerians

09:35about what is going on in a Nasarawa community where families had fled on foot amid threats of attack.

09:41And as if those are not enough, there was a fresh attack in Kaduna State at the weekend.

09:46The primary responsibility of government is the protection of lives and property and the promotion

09:52of the welfare of citizens. Enough of these hollow rhetoric, Mr. President, it is time to fold your

10:00sleeves and get to work. Meanwhile, my thoughts and prayers are with the families who may have lost a

10:05dear one in these attacks. I am outraged by the barbaric attack in Gary Yahweh community,

10:11Angwin-Rakuba, Joss, which claimed the lives of scores of innocent Nigerians and left many others

10:18injured. That this heinous assault occurred on Sunday night, March 29, 2026, is yet another damning

10:25indictment of the near-total collapse of security in our country. What we are witnessing is not merely

10:32a security lapse, but a tragic descent into lawlessness where human lives are treated as expendable.

10:37Despite endless pronouncements and so-called marching orders, insecurity remains the grim,

10:44daily reality of ordinary Nigerians who continue to bear the brunt of a failing system.

10:49It is long past the time for outrage without action. The anger across the land must now compel

10:56urgent, decisive political will to confront and crush this menace. The continued slaughter of innocent

11:02citizens cannot become our new normal. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved

11:07ones of the victims in this dark and painful moment.

11:11Thank you very much. Please be seated. You have no light at the airport and have to fly back within

11:26the next terminus. To you leaders, I've heard this. To the future, there is nothing I can give you,

11:45whether money in billions, but console you and promise you that this experience will now repeat itself.

12:01will don't make it work. Once again, God knows the story of how to imagine the

12:07I take care for example,

12:11for example,

12:13Pibil Rodham.

12:19I know the pain.

12:24I see how

12:26on the video

12:27you head on to a Uber

12:33and the pain

12:34and agony in your heart

12:38but it's only God

12:41it's only God

12:44who can give you joy

12:50and comfort

12:53no amount of money

12:55can pay all of you back

13:00yes

13:01as government

13:03we will try our best

13:06who had

13:08accommodated us

13:11politically

13:14I brought

13:16the symbol

13:17of this camp

13:18to break the shackle

13:20shackle of violence

13:23shackle of ignorance

13:26shackle of poverty

13:30shackle of hopelessness

13:34we must break it together

13:43I thank the men and

13:45women of the armed forces

13:47particularly the police

13:50for what they are doing

13:52and what they are about

13:54to do

13:54you must

13:56go on earth

13:58and find the killers

14:00I'm glad

14:01IGP is here

14:05I'm glad

14:06COAS is here too

14:07chief of family staff

14:10I'm glad

14:12the

14:13minister of defense

14:15is here

14:21our dear leaders

14:26I've been to

14:27just

14:28have enjoyed

14:30just

14:30in those days

14:32of peace

14:33we've had our

14:35political activities

14:36here

14:38I'm glad

14:39you are still alive

14:40we thank God

14:42for you

14:42and many of you

14:44thank you

14:45I used to point

14:47to your house

14:49where we spent

14:50the night

14:51where the leaders

14:54both

14:54the

14:55leaders of our

14:57politics

15:00where I was active

15:02as a young man

15:05you are accommodated

15:06us

15:07you open your doors

15:08for us

15:13then why do we

15:15build a division

15:17our promise

15:20then

15:20was

15:21progressive

15:22development

15:25improve

15:26standard

15:26of living

15:27for our people

15:28not to bury

15:30but to develop

15:41immediately

15:42we return

15:43to Abuja

15:44the committee

15:47as mentioned

15:50you increase

15:51the number

15:52of leaders

15:56including

15:57Nataway

15:58the governor

16:00and the minister

16:03of humanitarian

16:04affairs

16:04the minister

16:06thank you

16:08come see me

16:10take numeric

16:16analysis

16:17you are a data

16:18person

16:20for the victims

16:22let's see

16:23what we can do

16:26for the

16:27analysis

16:27we cannot

16:28replace

16:30human beings

16:33but

16:33whatever we do

16:35to give them

16:36minimum comfort

16:37we will

16:40we will

16:42we will

16:51I'll win.

Tinubu Reacts After Meeting Massacred Citizens’ Relatives At Jos Airport

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