As Nigeria grapples with yet another wave of violent attacks and mass abductions, public affairs analyst and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member Dickson Iroegbu has criticised President Bola Tinubu for what he described as a delayed and politically distracted response to the country’s escalating insecurity.
Speaking on Arise News during a panel discussion on Friday, Iroegbu condemned the government’s handling of the crisis, which has seen multiple kidnappings and attacks across the nation in a single week.
The analyst framed the situation as a profound governance failure, pointing to a pattern of neglect and political maneuvering at the expense of citizens’ safety.
He said, “It’s a sad period for the nation, Nigeria.We thought we had overcome this.
”We thought we could come together to solve our problem as a people, but it’s unfortunate that before now what the APC government, led by the Tinubu administration, has been all about is destruction for 2027. And so the government has suffered.”
He described President Tinubu’s recent engagement with the security crisis as overdue, stating, “Suddenly, this moment that the President is now awake, well, I can say to him from this end: good morning this night.
”Good morning, because Mr President, you’re waking up quite very late.
”But all the same, we the people of Nigeria want to unite and indeed look for a solution to these issues.”
Iroegbu dismissed government claims of economic progress as propaganda, arguing that political posturing could not conceal fundamental governance shortcomings.
“Propaganda won’t work. All of that infusion of, ‘Oh, economic gains made.’ What economic gains did you have?
”Please, let’s stop all of that and just realise that there’s something wrong about governance in our country,” he said.
He also accused the President of putting political calculations ahead of national cohesion.
“The President failed woefully, because over and over again we called out some of the steps being taken and said: engage the system, engage the people, to even believe in the policies you’re bringing out.
”But every moment, any opportunity they get, it’s all propaganda,” Iroegbu said.
The analyst also linked Tinubu’s response to mounting international pressure, particularly from the United States, and criticised the administration for dismissing concerns over targeted attacks on Christians.
“When the issue of Christian genocide was presented out there, rather than focus on human beings, the government said, ‘Oh, there is no Christian genocide, there are more Muslims.
”Please, let’s just stop it and put the interests of the Nigerian people first,” he said.
Iroegbu emphasised that the President had yet to show visible leadership in the wake of the recent wave of killings and abductions.
“It is time for the President to also address the nation, because these lives matter.
”It’s not enough to play to the gallery of ‘Oh, I’m cancelling my international engagements.’ Stay back to do what, Mr President? We haven’t seen you yet.
”We haven’t heard from you yet. We haven’t seen you express grief about the state of our country and that calls for concern,” he added.
The analyst condemned political distractions over the 2027 elections, urging immediate focus on governance and citizen protection.
He also reacted to a recent U.S. congressional hearing investigating Nigeria’s religious persecution claims, noting that the session highlighted the failures of Nigerian leaders.
“When I tuned in, I felt ashamed as a Nigerian.
“I felt hurt that our representatives in the National Assembly couldn’t do what the U.S. Congress was doing about our country.
”I just saw that indeed these people don’t seem to care. They don’t care.
”Our interest is not on the table, it’s their interest, ” he said.
He criticised the political class for losing touch with the realities faced by ordinary Nigerians, citing statistics of daily killings since the APC came to power.
“Every day in Nigeria since APC came to power… not less than 100 people are killed. And there’s no end in sight,” Iroegbu said.
Acknowledging that all groups have suffered, he stressed that Christians remained disproportionately affected.
“There is genocide in Nigeria, that’s a fact. It’s not only Christians being killed, other Nigerians are being killed.
”But targeted victims are mostly Christians, and nobody can dispute that. The records are there,” he said.
