…faults Tinubu over Oyo kidnapping, calls for resignation
By Timothy Ejoh
More than fifty days after schoolchildren were abducted in Oyo State, former Anambra Governor Peter Obi says the incident has exposed “the ultimate cost of uncompassionate leadership” and a “total collapse of governance” under President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement issued this week, Obi said the government and people of Oyo State “should rightly feel bitter and abandoned” due to the lack of tangible rescue efforts.
“This is not just an Oyo problem but a Nigerian tragedy,” he wrote, noting that he has spoken publicly about the abduction twice and appealed directly to the kidnappers for the children’s release.
On Friday, Obi said he traveled to Ibadan with Prof. Pat Utomi to express solidarity with Governor Seyi Makinde. During their 2-hour meeting, he said he shared his experience managing insecurity as governor of Anambra State.
Obi’s central claim was about communication from the Presidency.
He recalled that under Presidents Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan, governors received “personal calls several times” during major security crises.
“But, to my utmost shock,” Obi said, “Governor Seyi Makinde had not received a single call from President Bola Tinubu” regarding the Oyo abduction.
He compared it to the Chibok girls’ kidnapping in 2014. Even with daily security updates, he noted, there was outrage that it took President Jonathan over two weeks to call the Borno governor.
Obi pointed out that President Tinubu, then in opposition, “led a team of vocal critics who called for President Jonathan’s immediate resignation” over that delay.
“That call for IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION should actually be the case in this matter,” Obi stated.
Obi further alleged that there have been “more than thirteen school kidnappings” under the current administration, yet the President has not reached out to affected state executives even after more than seven weeks in the Oyo case.
“I suspect the same may also have been the case in other school kidnapping incidents,” he said.
“I cannot imagine any issue more important than the lives of our kidnapped children, their teachers, and the many other Nigerians being held captive across the country.”
Describing the situation as a “total lack of capacity and compassion, compounded by glaring insensitivity,” Obi concluded:
> “Amid such an apparent display of incompetence, the President should either resign or, at the very least, abstain from seeking re-election for the sake of our dear country. This call is patriotic, not political. A new Nigeria is POssible. -PO”
Obi’s statement adds to growing public pressure over insecurity and the federal government’s crisis response. The Oyo case has become a symbol for critics who argue leadership empathy and visible action are missing.
As of press time, the Presidency and the Oyo State Government had not issued a response to Obi’s specific claim that no call was made to Governor Makinde.
Security remains a major challenge nationwide, with kidnappings and abductions reported across multiple states in 2026.