32 dead in Sokoto and we are still talking about fuel prices

Atiku Abubakar has asked the question that should be on every Nigerian's lips this morning. After 32 people were slaughtered in Ungushi community, Kebbe LGA of Sokoto State, he wrote on his X handle on Monday, August 17, 2026, "I am devastated by the killing of 32 innocent Nigerians in Ungushi community, Kebbe LGA of Sokoto State." Then he added the line that should haunt this government: "But condolences are no longer enough. How many more Nigerians must be slaughtered before this government treats the protection of human life as an emergency?"

I have been a civil engineer in Ibadan for over twenty years, and I have watched successive governments treat security as an afterthought. We build roads, we build bridges, but we cannot protect the people who live on them. The first duty of government is to protect life, and Atiku is right to say that. "The first duty of government is to protect life. Nigerians cannot continue to bury their loved ones while those entrusted with their security offer excuses," he wrote. That is not politics, that is a statement of fact.

Some of you will say Atiku is just playing politics, that he lost the election and now he wants to score cheap points. But tell me, when was the last time you heard any government official speak about these 32 deaths with the same urgency they give to a new airport project? The killings in Sokoto are not a new story, they are a recurring tragedy. How many more villages must we bury before we admit that the current approach is not working? Be honest, would you feel safe sleeping in Kebbe tonight?