The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for attributing the nation’s hunger and poverty to opposition parties, at a time Nigerians are grappling with deadly attacks, mass kidnappings and rising cost of living.
In a statement issued on Sunday and signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, the rights group said the flag-off of the President’s re-election campaign in Kaduna highlighted a disconnect between political ambitions for 2027 and the existential challenges confronting citizens.
HURIWA said the campaign launch in the North presented an opportunity for the President to speak to the security emergency in the region, but was instead used to trade blames against past leaders.
The association challenged President Tinubu to unveil a concrete, time-bound strategy to defeat terrorist groups, dismantle kidnapping networks and secure the release of Nigerians held in captivity.
It said: “The association asks the President to explain what concrete measures his administration will deploy to rescue Nigerians reportedly held captive by terrorists and kidnappers in Borno, Kwara, Niger and other affected states.”
It called for defined security targets, clear rescue strategies, strengthened intelligence gathering and accountability for security lapses.
“Nigerians cannot afford another campaign season filled with promises while families continue to wait desperately for the return of abducted relatives,” the group stated, stressing that political rallies cannot substitute for the constitutional duty to protect lives.
On the economy, the group faulted President Tinubu’s assertion at the Kaduna rally that, “They created the hunger. They created the poverty. We are trying to eradicate it.”
HURIWA said the remark was an attempt to escape responsibility for the consequences of key policy decisions taken since May 2023, including the removal of petrol subsidy and exchange rate reforms.
“Whatever economic difficulties Tinubu inherited, his government must answer for the effects of its own decisions,” the group noted, pointing to spiralling food prices, expensive transportation, rising electricity costs and unaffordable essential drugs.
The association demanded a transparent account of savings accrued from petrol subsidy removal and the specific projects to which the funds have been deployed.
It further argued that the ruling All Progressives Congress, having governed the country since 2015, cannot absolve itself of responsibility for the current state of affairs, adding that the administrations of former President Muhammadu Buhari and President Tinubu must take ownership of their records.
HURIWA urged the President to refrain from treating legitimate complaints about hunger as political attacks and to prioritise interventions that ensure affordable food, healthcare, reliable electricity, reasonably priced transportation and adequate security for farmers, traders and businesses.
It said as the 2027 general election approaches, Nigerians will scrutinise the administration’s record on security, economic welfare and accountability, insisting that a re-election campaign must not become an avenue to evade responsibility.
