Jonathan Says Nigerians Now Tolerating Mass Killings

Former President Goodluck Jonathan warned that Nigerians are becoming dangerously desensitised to persistent insecurity and mass murder. Speaking at a book launch in Abuja, the former leader lamented that citizens now treat news of violent deaths as routine daily occurrences. He contrasted this current apathy with the national outrage that followed early insurgent attacks during his own administration. Jonathan argued that a society loses its humanity when it begins to rationalise the slaughter of its people. The speech serves as a blunt assessment of the collective psychological toll inflicted by a decade of unchecked militancy.

The security crisis has evolved significantly since Jonathan left office eleven years ago. While his administration wrestled primarily with the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east, violence has since spread across the entire federation. Current President Bola Tinubu faces a fragmented security landscape featuring well-armed bandit gangs, secessionist gunmen, and chronic pastoralist conflicts. Rural communities regularly suffer mass abductions and coordinated village raids that yield high body counts. Jonathan noted that the sheer frequency of these attacks has eroded the country’s collective capacity for shock.

This growing indifference among the populace shields political leaders from much-needed accountability. When the public views mass violence as inevitable, pressure on the state to reform its failing security architecture dissipates. The national assembly regularly summons security chiefs after major tragedies, yet these legislative hearings rarely produce systemic changes. Nigeria’s military remains overstretched, deployed on internal policing duties in almost all thirty-six states. By normalizing this dysfunction, citizens inadvertently lower the bar for what constitutes acceptable governance.

The former president also used the forum to address the structural weaknesses of the Nigerian state. He argued that true national development remains impossible while citizens live in constant fear for their lives. Investors routinely shun regions plagued by kidnapping, crippling local economies, and worsening poverty. Jonathan insisted that securing life and property must return to the absolute top of the federal government’s agenda. His remarks reflect a growing consensus among elder statesmen that the country’s social fabric is fraying under the weight of perpetual anxiety.

The political class, however, remains largely preoccupied with electoral maneuvering ahead of next year’s general elections. Critics often accuse politicians of exploiting regional security failures for partisan gain rather than offering concrete policy alternatives. Jonathan’s intervention urges a return to basic moral clarity in public discourse. The government needs to convince traumatised populations that the state can actually protect them. Until the state reclaims its monopoly on violence, citizens will continue to seek solace in resignation.