We thank God that the pupils and teachers abducted from the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State by heavily armed gunmen have finally regained their freedom.
It is deeply unfortunate that while the lives of innocent schoolchildren hung in the balance and after one of the teachers was brutally beheaded by the kidnappers; some politicians chose to turn a national tragedy into a political chess match.
As Nigerians mourned the slain teacher and prayed fervently for the safe return of the children, with the kidnappers threatening even greater harm, politicians such as Ayo Fayose and Nyesom Wike sought to distort the narrative rather than acknowledge where constitutional responsibility for security lies.
Ayo Fayose, who sold his people and party for stomach infrastructure, attempted to pin the tragedy on Governor Seyi Makinde. Without evidence, he advanced claims that many Nigerians regarded as reckless, insensitive, and unbecoming of a former governor.
Nyesom Wike, the self-styled emperor of Abuja and another politician who sacrificed the PDP for political gain, also sought to shift responsibility onto Governor Makinde – as though the Oyo State Governor, rather than the President of the Federal Republic, is Nigeria’s Commander-in-Chief and constitutionally responsible for the nation’s security architecture.
It would not be surprising if many of the other misleading narratives and speculative reports that circulated during the crisis were funded by the same brand of irresponsible politics.
Thankfully, the facts have prevailed over propaganda.
The kidnapped pupils were rescued through the efforts of Nigeria’s security forces, reinforcing the constitutional reality that internal security remains primarily the responsibility of the Federal Government and its security agencies.
The ordeal should serve as a lesson to politicians who seek to exploit human suffering for partisan advantage. When children are in captivity and lives are at stake, the moment demands compassion, responsibility, and sober leadership, not political opportunism.
The children are home. That is the victory that truly matters.
Dare Adeleke writes from Ibadan.
