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"You Carry Bucket Go Help Neighbour When Your House Dey Burn": Nigeria Roasts Tinubu as UAE Solidarity Outshines Borno Crisis
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu walked into a political storm of his own making this week, after enthusiastically voicing Nigeria's solidarity with the United Arab Emirates following Iranian missile and drone strikes on the Gulf state — even as 416 Nigerian women and children kidnapped from Ngoshe in Borno State faced a 72‑hour execution ultimatum from Boko Haram. Within hours of the President's social media post, which condemned attacks on the UAE's "civilian and economic infrastructure" and pledged "full solidarity" with Abu Dhabi, the backlash was swift and scalding.
One X user captured the public mood with devastating precision: "Na your own house dey burn, you carry bucket go help neighbour." Another wrote, "People dey die everyday for Nigeria — bandits, kidnappers, terrorists — and you quiet." At a moment when the nation was reeling from a mass abduction that had drawn international condemnation, the President's choice of priority became the story itself. The episode has crystallised a growing perception among Nigerians that their Commander‑in‑Chief is more attentive to the concerns of foreign powers than to the blood‑soaked reality unfolding across his country's north.
The UAE Solidarity Statement and the Optics Disaster
On April 23, 2026, President Tinubu took to his verified X handle to express concern over attacks on the UAE amid the escalating US‑Israel‑Iran war. "Nigeria is for global peace and stability, and for its friends and partners anywhere," he wrote. "I am particularly concerned by the attacks on UAE's civilian and economic infrastructure. I reaffirm my support and solidarity to the President of UAE and the measures he took to safeguard civilian populations and critical infrastructure." The same day, speaking at the State House in Abuja while receiving Letters of Credence from envoys of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf nations, Tinubu expanded the solidarity to cover the entire Gulf Cooperation Council region.
The diplomatic language was unremarkable; what made it combustible was the timing. On April 20, just three days earlier, a faction of Boko Haram known as Jama'atu Ahlis‑Sunna Lidda'awati Wal‑Jihad had released a chilling video in which masked gunmen stood over the abducted women and children and threatened to execute or relocate them within 72 hours unless a ₦5 billion ransom was paid. The government's silence on that ultimatum was deafening. Its sudden volubility on the UAE crisis was, to many Nigerians, a damning verdict on where the administration's priorities truly lay.
"You May Never See Them Again": The Ngoshe Abduction Nightmare
The scale of the Ngoshe kidnapping — the largest mass abduction in Nigeria since the Chibok schoolgirls — is staggering. On March 4, 2026, Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base and the surrounding Ngoshe community in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, killing an unspecified number of soldiers and residents before seizing 416 people, predominantly women and children. The victims were marched into the Sambisa Forest, a territory synonymous with insurgent control.
For weeks, the captives' families heard nothing. Then, in early April, a video surfaced in which the abducted women appealed directly to President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno, and philanthropist Aliko Dangote to intervene on their behalf. The terrorists followed up on April 19 with the "final warning" video, in which a spokesperson declared: "We are giving you 72 hours. If our demands are not met, we will move these victims, including women and children, to different locations. All of them... You may never see them again. And if the government believes it can rescue them by force, you are free to try." The ransom demand was ₦5 billion — an astronomical sum that no rural community could raise. Borno South Youth Alliance, led by Samaila Ibrahim Kaigama, confirmed that the ultimatum had been communicated through mediation channels and appealed to the government and well‑meaning Nigerians for urgent intervention.
As the deadline elapsed on April 23 — the same day Tinubu was receiving Gulf envoys and issuing solidarity messages — there was no official government statement. Twelve captives, mostly women and children, managed a daring escape during a military operation in the Sambisa Forest and trekked for days before reaching safety in Gwoza. Their names — Aisha Audu (20), Hajara Audu (18 months), Suleiman Umar (9), Zainabu Umar Mbasuwa (22), and others — were released by BOSYA. But the fate of the remaining 404 remains a haunting question mark.
Borno Senator Ali Ndume Speaks Out
The political establishment in Borno has not been silent. Senator Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South, has repeatedly called on President Tinubu to urgently intensify efforts to rescue the captives. The abduction followed other major attacks in the same region — including the killing of over 200 residents in Woro and Nuku communities in February 2026, and the kidnappings of 180 people in January — painting a picture of a state under siege despite years of military campaigns. The senator's calls have so far been met with the same official silence that has greeted the Boko Haram ultimatum.
Security Analysts Warn of Deepening Vulnerability
The Ngoshe abduction and the government's apparent diplomatic distraction have drawn sharp assessments from security analysts. Experts noted that April 2026 had already seen at least three coordinated mass attacks across the North‑East, with insurgents employing a combination of military‑style raids, economic disruption through farm killings, and psychological warfare through ultimatum videos. The use of mass abduction to fund operations via ransom is now a well‑established insurgent financing model, and the government's failure to disrupt it sends a dangerous signal. "The silence following the expiration of the ultimatum has heightened anxiety among residents," one analyst told Daily Post, warning that communities in Gwoza and surrounding areas are increasingly vulnerable to repeat attacks. "Residents in affected communities are living in fear, uncertain about the next move by the insurgents."
The military has recorded some tactical successes — including a rescue operation that freed the twelve escapees and the reported killing of 24 Boko Haram fighters in the Gwoza area — but the deteriorating humanitarian situation overshadows these gains. The Arewa Consultative Forum has described the security crisis as a "state of war," while the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has documented more than 1,000 abductions nationwide since January 2026 alone.
Conclusion: A Test of Leadership That Must Be Passed
The politics of foreign solidarity are not inherently wrong; a Nigerian president must navigate a complex diplomatic landscape, and expressions of support for allies are part of the job. But when those expressions are delivered at a moment when 416 of one's own citizens face execution in a forest, and when neither the President nor his ministers have spoken directly to their families, the optics are catastrophic. The government's subsequent silence on the kidnapping — even as the 72‑hour Boko Haram deadline expired — is being interpreted not as strategic restraint but as indifference. Until the President addresses the Ngoshe captives with the same urgency he brought to the UAE's infrastructure, the public verdict will remain unsparing: you have time for your neighbour, but none for your own children.
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