By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa
The presidency has provided reasons why President Bola Tinubu chose to commiserate with victims of recent violent attacks at Yakubu Gowon Airport in Plateau State, rather than visiting the affected communities directly.
On Thursday, Tinubu arrived in Plateau State to offer condolences to victims of the Sunday evening attack on Angwan Rukuba community in Jos North Local Government Area. He met with stakeholders and survivors at the airport, a decision that drew criticism online and offline. Many Nigerians argued that the president failed to show empathy by not visiting the communities hit by the violence.
Yakubu Gowon Airport, located in Heipang, Barkin Ladi LGA, is about 40 minutes from Jos, the state capital.
In a statement issued on Friday, Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, explained that Tinubu’s schedule on Thursday already included a meeting with the Chadian president in Abuja and a planned trip to Iperu in Ogun State. According to Onanuga, the Ogun trip was postponed after Tinubu met with Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang at the State House.
However, the meeting with the Chadian president — focused on strengthening security cooperation between the two countries — could not be rescheduled and “ran longer than expected,” which delayed the president’s departure for Jos.
Upon arrival, the team faced logistical challenges. Onanuga noted: “While the road distance from the airport to Jos township is approximately 40 minutes, the runway does not support night flights due to the absence of navigational aids. The constraints made it unfeasible to drive into town, meet victims for on-the-spot assessment and return to the airport before dusk.”
As a result, state and federal officials decided to bring representatives of the affected communities to a hall near the airport, allowing the president to meet with them promptly while complying with flight safety rules.
Onanuga added that among those present were the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Army Staff, and the Inspector General of Police, who had earlier visited Rukuba, the epicentre of the conflict. President Tinubu had also deployed a high-level team — including the Senior Special Assistant on Community Engagement — to carry out preliminary security and community outreach work in the area.
“Beyond expressing his condolences to the victims, President Tinubu’s objective was to engage with critical stakeholders in Plateau State on ending the recurring, decades-old conflict that has resulted in needless loss of lives and property,” Onanuga said.
He maintained that despite attempts by critics to ridicule the visit, the president’s trip achieved its intended purpose.
