Dear Minister Yusuf Tuggar,
Today is International Men’s Day, a day that calls men to conscience, courage, clarity, and responsibility. I can think of no better moment to speak to you man-to-man.
I watched your appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored this morning. With all due respect, that interview should not have been granted. It was a disaster, not because you lack eloquence, but because truth was not on your side. You laboured to defend the indefensible.
Your attempt to minimise the crisis, denying religiously targeted killings and reducing Nigeria’s insecurity to external destabilisation narratives, was painful to watch. It was not leadership. It was evasion.
Your interview reminded me of a moment in 1992 when I accompanied my uncle, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, to the wedding of Mr. Dele Momodu (now Publisher of Ovation International) outside Lagos. There, Gani met his childhood friend, Chief Alex Akinyele, then Minister of Information under General Ibrahim Babangida. In friendly banter, Gani said:
“Alex, we have not been hearing you defend your government lately.”
Akinyele replied, laughing, but with unmistakable sobriety:
“Gani, I have stopped defending the indefensible.”
Dear Minister, that is a word for you today. If a man serving under a military regime knew when to preserve his honour, what then should you do under a supposed democratic government?
Stop defending the indefensible. Let your conscience breathe if you still hold it together.
There is a timeless proverb among our people:
“You don’t talk while you are eating.”
That is basic table manners.
Now that your hands are deep in the pot of the national cake, stuffing both your mouth and your pockets with the main meal and the crumbs, maintain silence. Because when you speak while “eating,” you expose yourself as a victim of your own belly and personal comfort.
You repeated the same narrative: Libya collapsed, weapons flowed in, external actors are destabilising Nigeria. But even if, without conceding there are foreign threats, what about our internal failures that make Nigeria vulnerable?
My people say: “If the wall does not crack, the lizard cannot enter.”
So I ask:
• Is Nigeria safe from within?
• Have we not destabilised ourselves through misgovernance?
• Is insecurity not thriving because leadership has failed to secure the nation?
Our Constitution says: “The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” Where do we stand on this duty?
On 15 November, Brigadier General Muhammed Uba, Commander of the 25 Task Force Brigade, was reportedly ambushed near Wajiroko village in Borno, captured by ISWAP fighters, briefly escaped into Sambisa Forest, shared his location via WhatsApp, recaptured, interrogated, and executed, according to insurgent claims.
The Nigerian Army has denied his capture and execution. The very existence of conflicting narratives reflects the depth of our crisis.
On November 17, 2025, twenty-five children in Maga Kebbi were allegedly abducted yesterday.
Today, in Ekuru, Kwara State, worshippers of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) were reportedly attacked on camera three killed, a pastor kidnapped, an elderly woman unable to flee left at the mercy of the attackers.
These are not political talking points. These are bleeding realities.
My people say:
“The witch cried yesterday; the child died today. Who does not know the cause?”
Nigeria is in that condition now.
Honourable Minister, you sat before the world insisting Christians are not being killed, insisting insecurity is exaggerated, insisting foreign forces are the main threat. I ask you, man to man:
What was your conscience telling you as you said those things?
Sometimes silence is nobler than propaganda. If there was nothing true to say, the interview should have been declined. These performances deepen public pain and widen the gulf between citizens and government.
Men are called to courage. Leadership demands truth.
On this International Men’s Day, I appeal to you:
Choose truth.
Choose conscience.
Choose the Nigerian people.
Because truly, how much longer can we continue like this?
Yours, man to man,
Taiwo AKINLAMI
