'Leadership Without Compassion is Not Leadership' — Obi criticises Tinubu for ending Plateau visit at airport instead of affected communities

Africa, Politics

‘Leadership Without Compassion is Not Leadership’ — Obi criticises Tinubu for ending Plateau visit at airport instead of affected communities

ABUJA, NIGERIA, 3 April 2026 (NPA) — Africa Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential aspirant, Mr Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for failing to visit Angwan Rukuba in Jos North Local Government, where terrorists murdered innocent people last Sunday. Obi, in a statement on Friday, titled “Leadership Without Compassion is Not Leadership,” condemned what he described as the president’s lack of empathy.

Obi alleged that during Tinubu’s visit to Benue State in June 2025, the president stopped at the Government House instead of visiting the actual scene of killings, and that in Jos yesterday, his engagement ended at the airport rather than in the affected communities. “What happened in Plateau yesterday highlights a complete absence of leadership. True leadership requires presence, empathy, compassion, and a willingness to meet people where their pain truly lies. For citizens who have just lost loved ones, homes, and their sense of safety, being addressed from an airport tarmac is profoundly inadequate,” Obi said.

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The former Anambra State Governor argued that Tinubu’s governance approach deepens the sense of abandonment already felt by Nigerians enduring repeated cycles of violence without meaningful protection or justice. “Plateau deserves more than distant words; it requires urgent action and a clear commitment to ending the insecurity that continues to claim innocent lives,” he added. 

Obi stressed that leadership must be both visible and tangible—standing with victims, listening to survivors, and acknowledging their grief. 

Signing off with his political slogan, “A new Nigeria is POssible. –PO,” Obi concluded that if Nigerians truly desire a better country, they must demand leadership that is present, responsive, and responsible at all times.