By Omagbemi Sylvester
History has a way of confronting leaders with the very standards they once demanded of others.
In 2014, following the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, then opposition leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu spoke with moral clarity and urgency. He declared:
“We must first of all put the lives of our people as a priority.”
He further stated:
“The life of every citizen is a priority and you can imagine the agony of the parents.”
Most importantly, Tinubu cautioned against turning a national tragedy into a political football, saying:
“We cannot politicise it, we should collaborate and work for those children to be brought back.”
Those words earned widespread support from Nigerians who expected leaders to place the safety of citizens above politics.
Today, President Tinubu faces a similar test. The abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State has once again exposed the vulnerability of Nigerian schools and the painful reality that many parents still live with the fear of losing their children to kidnappers.
The issue before Nigerians is not whether insecurity began under Tinubu. It did not. Neither did it begin under former President Goodluck Jonathan. The real question is whether governments are responding with the urgency and effectiveness expected of them when innocent children are taken captive.
When Tinubu spoke during the Chibok crisis, he appealed to the conscience of the nation. He reminded leaders that every life matters and that the agony of parents should never be ignored.
Those words remain as powerful today as they were then.
For the families of the Oriire victims, political arguments offer little comfort. What they seek is action, results, and the safe return of their loved ones. Ultimately, leadership is measured not by the criticisms made in opposition, but by the solutions delivered in power.
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