Following the massacred in the Borno state, the Nigerian President has refused to comment. More than 48 hours after Nigerian soldiers hunting for Boko Haram insurgents allegedly leveled Baga town in Borno State, killing 185 civilians and wounding several others, President Goodluck Jonathan is yet to comment on the tragedy.
The president’s silence is a sharp contrast with the way his United States counterpart, Barack Obama, acts whenever even a single American is killed.
But there has been no word from the Nigerian government since news of the massacre broke in the local and international press.
Presidential spokespersons, Reuben Abati and Doyin Okupe did not answer or return calls seeking comments on why the president is still quiet about the killings. They also did not respond to text messages sent to them.
The president’s silence has however sparked outrage among some Nigerians.
“A competent and sensible president should have visited Borno immediately to see things for himself,” says Segun Onabanjo, a sociology lecturer at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye. “That he is still holed up there in Aso Rock, keeping mum when his troops are alleged to have extrajudicially killed 185 is an indication of how much this president values the lives of the people he governs.”
Olu Akerele, a chieftain of the opposition Progressive Peoples Alliance, PPA, said it is sad that Nigerians have no one to look up to for leadership in the face of this kind of tragedy.
“Our expectation is that the president would immediately review the intelligence he received from Borno and then take action to lessen the pains of the people of the town. This president has carried his ineptitude too far,” Mr. Akerele said. “It is an indication that even if all of us are killed, this president just might not care.”
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