Isaac Samuel
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu returned to Nigeria Monday night after a 19-day trip to France and the United Kingdom, stepping into a country that has grown increasingly anxious in his absence.
Greeted at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by top officials including Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, the President faces immediate challenges that he must attend to.
President Tinubu left on April 2 for France, his fifth trip to the European country since assuming office.
His return, though expected, comes under a cloud of public outrage and criticism, particularly over the state of security in Nigeria’s North Central especially states of Plateau and Benue; increase Boko Haram attacks in the North-East, deteriorating economic indicators, as well as protests among opposing political groups in Rivers, where the president declared a state of emergency and suspended all elected officials, including the governor.
The President’s spokespersons said the trip was for a strategic review of ongoing reforms ahead of his second anniversary in office.
But back home, the tone was far from celebratory. The nation he left behind has witnessed a troubling surge in insecurity, deepening economic challenges and escalating political tensions, particularly in Rivers State.
While President Tinubu was away, over 200 people were reportedly killed in a spate of attacks by armed groups and suspected herdsmen in Plateau and Benue states.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s Peter Obi publicly criticized the President’s prolonged absence, demanding his immediate return to take control of the dire security situation.
Atiku in a statement on his official Facebook account on Saturday expressed his disappointment and frustration over the president’s absence.
Atiku emphasised that leadership demands presence, especially during times of national crisis, citing examples of other world leaders who have shown empathy and urgency in similar situations, such as former US President Barack Obama and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
“Nigeria is bleeding. Nigerians are dying. The president is nowhere to be found,” Atiku lamented.
Peter Obi, on his part, urged President Tinubu to suspend all his engagements in France and rush home to address the disturbing issues facing the country.
This urgent call has become necessary following the rising incidents of crimes and criminality all over Nigeria, with an apparent absence of governance.
“In the two weeks you have been away, over 150 Nigerians have lost their lives to insecurity across Nigeria, especially in Plateau and Zamfara states. The repeated pipeline explosions in the Niger Delta, further reflect a nation in distress.
“In the North East, Borno State leaders are bemoaning the return of insurgency, with troops and civilians being killed randomly. In the South-East, the story is the same: killings and abductions”, Obi said.
As the President was away, prominent voices, including former Defence Minister General Theophilus Danjuma, Catholic Bishop Matthew Kukah, and Pastor Tunde Bakare, echoed growing despair and called for urgent government action.
Similarly, the Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, and Kebbi State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, expressed same sentiments, pleading with President Bola Tinubu to save Nigerians from frequent killings by bandits, herdsmen, and insurgents.
“The time has come for Nigerians to defend themselves,” Danjuma said in a blunt warning against over-reliance on government security.
But responding to these concerns, Bayo Onanuga, presidential media aide said the president left Paris for London over the weekend, noting that he has maintained constant communication with key government officials.
“His absence remains temporary and in line with the communicated timeframe of approximately two weeks,” Onanuga said.
But observers feel the gap between communication and presence and between remote coordination and physical leadership remains a sticking point for many Nigerians.
For Nigerians battling with existential threats, the optics of a distant president definitely fuel a growing perception of detachment. Leadership in such a volatile period demands not just decision-making, but presence – a voice that consoles, a figure that reassures, a captain who stays on deck during the storm.
Moreover, Onanuga’s reassurance, though measured, doesn’t confront the deeper anxiety gripping the polity: that governance is becoming centralised to unelected actors and power brokers.
With some key figures in the government wielding disproportionate influence, and military-style administrators appointed in sensitive states, citizens fear a drift away from democratic norms. Tinubu’s silence during these critical moments, despite claims of constant communication, leaves unanswered questions about who really governs and for whom.
As insecurity rages, Nigerians are also contending with worsening economic hardship.
The National Bureau of Statistics reported that headline inflation rose to 24.23 per cent in March, up from 23.18 per cent in February. Month-on-month inflation accelerated sharply by 3.90 per cent, which reflected a rapid spike in consumer prices. The cost of living crisis is biting deeper, and public patience is wearing thin.
Civil society organizations, including the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), lambasted Tinubu for being absent during these dual national emergencies. CISLAC’s executive director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, on Monday described the situation as a tragic failure of leadership.
“Easter is a season of reflection and sacrifice. Instead, it has become a painful reminder of bloodshed and abandonment,” he said.
Adding to the President’s mounting challenges is the political standoff in Rivers State, where the federal government’s appointment of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) as sole administrator has sparked intense backlash.
Since taking office, Ibas has taken sweeping steps that many describe as unconstitutional and authoritarian. He also dissolved local government councils and replaced key officials without legislative backing.
Critics had argued that the imposition of a sole administrator undermines the very essence of federalism and sets a dangerous precedent for executive overreach.
Analysts say Rivers State has effectively become a testing ground for a creeping centralisation of power one where constitutional processes are suspended under the guise of restoring order.
Beyond the legal irregularities, the political implications are equally profound.
With a state as strategically important as Rivers both economically and electorally many observers see the move as a calculated attempt by the ruling APC to consolidate political control ahead of the 2027 elections.
For instance, Human rights activist Ann-Kio Briggs accused Ibas of pursuing an unconstitutional agenda, saying that his actions were inflaming an already volatile environment.
“He’s not keeping the peace. He’s pouring petrol on a fire the President may have thought was simmering,” she said on Arise Television.
Politically, Tinubu faces threats to his 2027 re-election ambitions. Opposition parties are already exploring potential coalitions, with figures like Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, among many others reportedly holding strategic consultations. Even within the President’s party, tensions are simmering particularly among members of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc, one of the key legacy groups that merged to form the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013.
Loyalists of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who still wield influence in the North, are reportedly growing disillusioned with Tinubu’s style of governance and appointments, which they believe are increasingly skewed in favour of his old Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) allies.
As the President settles back into Aso Rock, the clock ticks toward his second year in office an inflection point that could define his presidency. But with increasing insecurity, economic hardship, political unrest, and an electorate growing increasingly impatient, the road ahead looks anything but smooth.
Whether the President can turn the tide or remain caught in the storm he returns to will shape the next chapter of Nigeria’s democratic journey.
