President Tinubu’s Visit To Benue Lacks Empathy – Adebayo

By Akinwale Kasali

Adewole Adebayo, Social Democratic Party, SDP, Presidential Candidate during the 2023 General Election has criticised the President Bola Tinubu for not visiting Yelwata town in Benue State, where hundreds of people were massacred by suspected herdsmen.

Adebayo made the assertion on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme. He said that the visit of President Tinubu would have made meaning if he visited Yelwata Community to empathize with the People, and give them a sense of belonging.

It will be recalled that President Tinubu had visited Benue on Wednesday to sympathise with the people of the State over the killings, but cited rain, flood, and bad roads as reasons for not visiting Yelwata.

According to President Tinubu, “I aborted my visit to Yelwata town because of the rain, flood and bad roads,” Tinubu said during his visit to Makurdi, the state capital.

The former Presidential Candidate lashed the President for giving a flimsy excuse, describing  Tinubu’s excuse as untenable.

He said the President should have made sure he visited Yelwata regardless of the challenges.

“He cannot say as commander-in-chief, there is a part of the country that is unreachable by you. People are living there,” Adebayo said.

He further said the visit was politicized and lacked empathy.

Adebayo noted that the President’s demeanor during the visit was not somber enough, likening it to a political rally rather than a visit to a place of mourning.

He emphasised that as the Commander-in-Chief, Tinubu should have been more controlled in his language and actions.

“Going to a place of mourning that even during the Nigerian civil war, it would be newsworthy if there were 200 lives lost at one time.

“So, such a place is a somber occasion and he is in charge of all the people who followed him there.

“But what do you get there? It was like another political rally. That sombreness was not there.

“The President should have gone there as a chief mourner and his language should have been somber and his language should have been better controlled.”

The attack in Yelwata resulted in scores of deaths and over 3,000 displacements, with the Government putting the death toll at 59, while Civil Rights Groups claimed it was around 200.