Adewole Adebayo, former SDP presidential candidate, has sharply criticised President Bola Tinubu’s handling of rising insecurity, warning that Nigeria is “sleepwalking into the next tragedy” as violence continues to spread.

Reacting to the reported deployment of the Nigerian Army to Kwara State following fresh attacks through his verified X platform, formally Twitter,@Pres_Adewole, Adebayo argued that the federal government’s approach remains dangerously reactive rather than strategic.

“Tinubu is not acting decisively — he is reacting,” Adebayo said, noting that military deployments often come after bandits have already carried out attacks and fled.

According to him, such delayed responses fail to deter criminals who have learned to strike swiftly and disappear before security forces arrive.

The former presidential candidate questioned how many violent incidents Nigerians must endure before a proactive security strategy is adopted.

“How many attacks have we witnessed this year? How many more do we need to witness?” he asked.

Adebayo warned that unless the government changes course, the country may only be waiting for the next inevitable tragedy. His remarks add to growing public concern over persistent insecurity across several states, despite repeated assurances from the federal government.

The comments have sparked renewed debate online over whether Nigeria’s security architecture is equipped to prevent attacks — or merely respond after lives have already been lost.

His tweet:

“Tinubu’s has now deployed the army in Kwara state to respond to the violence. Herein lies the problem. Tinubu is not acting decisively – He is reacting. This does deter bandits. They are already long gone when the army arrives.

“How many attacks have we witnessed this year? How many more do we need to witness? If the government continues with this strategy, the next tragedy is waiting around the corner”.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

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