Analyst slams President for ignoring mass killings but moving “swiftly and panicky” after alleged coup scare
Public affairs analyst, Mahdi Shehu, has launched a blistering attack on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, alleging that the recent removal and replacement of Nigeria’s service chiefs was not borne out of concern for the country’s worsening insecurity but out of fear of a coup.
Shehu, in a statement posted on his 핏 handle on Saturday, claimed that the President acted out of self-preservation and political panic following speculations of a military takeover plot within the corridors of power.
Quoting James 3:16 of the Bible — “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice” — Shehu accused Tinubu of exhibiting traits of selfish ambition and insecurity, saying the verse perfectly reflected the President’s motives.
> “The scriptural references to man’s selfishness are well narrated and documented with visible confirmation by man himself. Man’s greed and insatiable economic desires give further credence to his infinite capacity for selfishness,” he wrote.
The outspoken analyst faulted Tinubu for failing to act in the face of relentless killings, kidnappings, and terrorist attacks ravaging the country, yet suddenly overhauling the military after rumours of a coup surfaced.
> “The ongoing wanton killings nationwide did not prick Tinubu’s conscience to rejig his security architecture,” Shehu stated.
“But the moment his brand of democracy came under what was officially denied yet unofficially confirmed as a coup, he acted swiftly and panicky.”
Shehu described the development as “a coup shrouded in darkness,” accusing the President of responding decisively only when his personal survival appeared threatened, not when Nigerians were being slaughtered.
He listed states including Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Niger, Yobe, Borno, Benue, Taraba, Kogi, and Nasarawa, where entire communities have been razed or displaced, insisting that these tragedies were not enough to trigger action from the Commander-in-Chief.
Turning his criticism to the economy, Shehu accused the President of shielding an “underperforming economic team” while millions of Nigerians wallow in poverty.
> “With 139 million Nigerians facing abject poverty and hunger, and other gory economic failures, Tinubu is yet to sack his economic team,” he fumed.
President Tinubu had on Friday announced a major shake-up in the armed forces, appointing General Olufemi Oluyede as the new Chief of Defence Staff, replacing General Christopher Musa, along with new heads for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Defence Intelligence Agency.
The Presidency, through spokesperson Sunday Dare, had described the move as a routine measure to strengthen national security, but Shehu’s remarks have cast a shadow of controversy over the motive behind the shake-up.
Analysts say the allegations, though unsubstantiated, reflect growing unease about civil-military relations and political stability under Tinubu’s administration — as fears of economic collapse, insecurity, and elite discontent continue to dominate public discourse.
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