Tinubu Can Find Soldiers For France But Not For Nigerians Dying In Their homes

 By Sa'adiyyah Adebisi Hassan

When the Benin Republic political crisis began, Nigerians woke up to a Nigerian army deployment that appeared out of nowhere – jets, troops, machinery, rapid response, zero bureaucracy. Less than 24 hours.

Compare that with years of massacres, kidnappings, mass abductions, villages burnt, clergy murdered, schools emptied, highways captured, and entire states under terrorist rule and suddenly Nigeria is “confused”, “slow”, “gathering intelligence”, or “waiting for weather clearance.”

Nigeria can fly for France, but Nigeria cannot fly for Nigerians. Let that sink deeper than insult – it’s treason by priority.

THE CONSTITUTION WAS CLEARLY BROKEN

Section 5(4) of the 1999 Constitution says the President CANNOT deploy troops outside Nigeria without Senate approval unless there is an imminent threat to Nigeria’s national security.

Benin posed no threat. Bandits ARE an existential threat. Yet the jets fly OUT, not IN. So are we defending Nigeria or defending France’s backyard?

A BRIGADIER GENERAL WAS KIDNAPPED AND KILLED

A Brigadier General went missing for weeks… Nobody mobilised jets. Nobody scrambled forces. Nobody broke a sweat.

But France hinted panic in Benin and Tinubu produced an army overnight. So Nigeria has capacity. Nigeria has assets. Nigeria has intelligence. Nigeria has airstrike ability. They simply choose NOT to use them for Nigerians.

THIS WAS A FRENCH OPERATION USING NIGERIAN MUSCLE

Benin is France’s colony. ECOWAS is France’s geopolitical playground. Nigeria is France’s regional bodyguard.

Tinubu was not “protecting democracy.” He was guarding French influence against a rebellion against the French system.

France cannot afford to lose another colony after Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and CAR kicked them out.

Nigeria is now France’s last military pipeline. And France knows Tinubu desperately needs international legitimacy – so they used him.

COUNTRIES THAT FELL INTO THIS TRAP BEFORE

1. DR Congo (Mobutu era)

Mobutu protected foreign mining companies while ignoring internal crisis.

Result?

Congo collapsed into one of Africa’s deadliest wars.

2. Iraq under Saddam – US partnership (1980s)

Used Iraqi forces to fight Iran while ignoring internal governance.

Later the same Western sponsors turned against Saddam.

Result: invasion and national collapse.

3. Afghanistan (pro-US governments)

Protected foreign priorities, ignored internal insecurity.

Result?

Government dissolved within days and Taliban walked into Kabul without firing a shot.

Lesson?

Any country prioritizing foreign agendas over internal security will eventually lose BOTH – internal control and external allies.

MEANWHILE, NIGERIANS ARE DYING

Thousands slaughtered in years. Villages emptied. Schools permanently shut. Farmers displaced. Kidnapping economy thriving.

Yet the government that can deploy instantly to Benin cannot rescue priests, school children, soldiers, farmers, districts and highways.

Nigeria can mobilize for foreign political crisis, but not for Nigerian graves. This is betrayal, not leadership.

THE WORST PART

Tinubu PRETENDS he is helpless against bandits but the same Tinubu becomes Superman when France coughs.

Nigerians see this contradiction. Nobody is fooled. Nobody is blind. Nobody is stupid.

A country that cannot protect its own citizens has no business sending a single soldier outside its borders.

THE TRUTH NOBODY WANTS TO SAY

Nigeria is not defending democracy in Benin. Nigeria is protecting colonial interests. Nigeria is not a regional power. Nigeria is a regional pawn.

Tinubu did not send troops because of Africa, Tinubu sent troops because of France. He can mobilise for Paris, but cannot mobilise for Kogi. That is why Nigeria bleeds.

A government that spends more energy protecting foreign governments than protecting its own people has already confessed failure.

And history is clear: when a state abandons its citizens, the citizens eventually abandon the state.

Keep ignoring insecurity, and one day there will be no Nigeria left to defend. Nigeria is not just insecure. Nigeria is now strategically defenceless by choice. And that is worse than insecurity – that is national suicide.

*Hassan is a commentator on public issues