Public affairs analyst, Mahdi Shehu, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of acting out of self-interest rather than national concern in his recent overhaul of Nigeria’s service chiefs.
In a post shared via his official X handle on Saturday, Shehu argued that the President’s decision was not inspired by the escalating insecurity across the country but by political fear and personal survival instincts following reports of a possible coup plot.
Citing the Bible to support his view, Shehu quoted James 3:16 — “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” He said the verse mirrors Tinubu’s conduct, suggesting that selfish ambition has guided the President’s choices.
“The scriptural references to man’s selfishness are well narrated and documented with visible confirmation by man himself,” Shehu noted, accusing Tinubu of ignoring countless tragedies that have befallen the nation.
He lamented that despite widespread killings in Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Niger, Yobe, Borno, Benue, Taraba, Kogi, and Nasarawa states, the President failed to act decisively on security until his political stability was allegedly threatened.
“The ongoing wanton killings nationwide did not prick Tinubu’s conscience to rejig his security architecture,” Shehu wrote. “But the moment his democracy came under what was officially denied yet unofficially confirmed as a coup, he acted swiftly and panicky.”
Describing the move as “a coup shrouded in darkness,” Shehu claimed the President only became proactive when his personal safety and political survival were at risk.
He also faulted Tinubu’s handling of Nigeria’s economic situation, accusing him of retaining “a wizardly economic team” despite worsening poverty and hunger. “With 139 million Nigerians facing abject poverty and hunger, Tinubu is yet to sack his economic team,” he stated.
Shehu concluded that Tinubu’s decisions exemplify man’s inherent selfishness — acting only when personal interests are threatened.
Meanwhile, according to a statement by presidential media aide Sunday Dare, the President appointed General Olufemi Oluyede as the new Chief of Defence Staff, replacing General Christopher Musa.