The Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) of Nigeria has condemned President Bola Tinubu for blaming opposition parties for hunger and poverty while Nigerians face deadly attacks, mass kidnappings and high cost of living.
In a statement on Sunday signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, HURIWA said Tinubu’s campaign flag-off in Kaduna exposed a disconnect between his re-election ambitions and the realities confronting Nigerians.
The group said the President’s launch of his re-election campaign in the North offered an opportunity to address the security emergency in the region, but instead he used it to blame past leaders.
HURIWA challenged Tinubu to present a clear, time-bound plan to defeat terrorists, dismantle kidnapping networks and rescue citizens in captivity, instead of trading blame.
“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,” the statement read.
It demanded specific security targets, clear rescue strategies, stronger intelligence operations and accountability for security failures.
“Nigerians cannot afford another campaign season filled with promises while families continue to wait desperately for the return of abducted relatives,” HURIWA said, warning that political rallies cannot substitute for the constitutional responsibility to protect lives.
On the economy, HURIWA rejected Tinubu’s statement at the Kaduna rally: “They created the hunger. They created the poverty. We are trying to eradicate it.”
The association said the comment was an attempt to escape accountability for policies implemented since May 2023, including petrol subsidy removal and exchange-rate reforms.
“Whatever economic difficulties Tinubu inherited, his government must answer for the effects of its own decisions,” it said, noting soaring food prices, expensive transportation, rising electricity costs and unaffordable medicines.
HURIWA demanded transparent accounting of savings from petrol subsidy removal and the projects financed with the funds.
It also said the APC cannot absolve itself of responsibility after governing since 2015, and that administrations of former President Muhammadu Buhari and Tinubu must own their records.
The group urged the President to stop treating complaints about hunger as political attacks and to focus on affordable food, healthcare, reliable electricity, reasonably priced transportation and security for farmers, traders and businesses.
HURIWA said Nigerians will scrutinise the administration’s record on security, economic welfare and accountability as the 2027 election approaches, insisting that a re-election campaign must not become an escape from responsibility.