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By Myke Agunwa
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has praised the Federal Government’s rapid response to the foiled coup attempt in the Benin Republic but accused President Bola Tinubu of applying double standards by failing to show the same urgency in tackling banditry, terrorism and kidnapping ravaging Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Monday by ADCs National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the speed with which Nigeria mobilised for Benin “throws into sharp relief the slow, haphazard and often incompetent response to the insecurity that has turned many Nigerian communities into killing fields.
“If the government can act decisively across the border, why has it demonstrated such outrageous incompetence in dealing with domestic insecurity?
“A government that can move swiftly abroad must act decisively at home. The defence of democracy begins with protecting Nigerian lives, not with photo-ops in Cotonou” ” the ADC demanded.
The coalition party also questioned the legality of the intervention, reminding President Tinubu that Section 5(4) of the 1999 Constitution requires National Assembly ratification for any deployment of Nigerian troops outside the country.
“While the action may have been expedient, it must still be subjected to parliamentary approval,” the statement stressed.
The ADC further accused the government of selective activism, pointing to its “hesitation” during the 2022 Guinea-Bissau crisis when former President Goodluck Jonathan was briefly trapped.
“That delay stands in sharp contrast to yesterday’s urgency,” the party noted, adding that the inconsistency “gives credence to allegations that the Benin operation was at the behest of a more powerful foreign country.”
While condemning military coups in principle, the ADC insisted that the surest bulwark against democratic reversal in West Africa is good governance at home.
“The best safeguard against military adventurism is for elected governments to make democracy meaningful by improving livelihoods, restoring security and tolerating opposition,” the statement concluded.
The opposition party’s statement comes amid growing public frustration over persistent mass abductions, farmer-herder clashes and banditry in the North-West and North-Central zones, even as Nigeria positions itself as the regional policeman following the swift deployment of troops and intelligence assets to stabilise Benin after Thursday’s botched putsch.