Nigerians React to Senator Ali Ndume's Hunger-in-the-land Video of Crowd at Tinubu's Bourdilon House
By Israel Adeleke, Olufemi Orunsola
Following a viral video, showing a cross of people loitering around in front of the Bourdilon mansion of President Tinubu posted by Senator Ali Undume, blaming the President for the unprecedented poverty and hunger in the land, Nigerians have ventilated a cacophony of opinions.
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA OTN News reports that the Senator, Mohammed Ali Ndume (born 20 November 1959) is a Nigerian politician who has served as the senator representing Borno South senatorial district since 2011, posted the viral video on his X handle @Senatorndume with a caption:
Queues for presidential handouts at Bourdillon on Christmas Eve highlight a sobering reality"
Senator Ndume concluded his post by saying, "Poverty knows no tribe, religion, politics, or region. It is a universal challenge that demands collective action and sustainable solutions".
OTN News reports that while Nigerian Netizens align perfectly with the thought pattern and position of Senator Ndume, others gave the Borno Senator hard knocks for trying to politicize an annual routine exercise of people hanging out at the Bourdilon house of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to score a cheap political point.
Below are some of the reactions of Nigerians to the post, as collated and professionally moderated by OTN News.
A Netizen named Segun @ segun_temiliano reacted, "I have been observing these people forever. They were there 10 years ago beyond and above.
The first time I noticed them was 2007. He has been feeding them before he becomes the president of Nigeria.
They are there forever. Morning, afternoon and evening. I pass through Bourdillon daily, I know what I’m talking about."
Another Netizen, Akindele Falana @ Akinsipeola gave Senator Ndume a knock posting, "He's been doing dis "presidential handouts" for more than 20 yrs now b4 he became president. Just like the Sarakis do in Kwara and other well todos in other parts of d country. But just bcos u want to set agenga & d fact dat u're still pained on the tax bills u posted dis nonsense."
Another thumbs down came for Senator Ndume from Netizen, Yaya Oseni @yayaoseni who posted, "Really, a Nigerian Senator posted this for his people. What does this man want? A betrayer of highest order. He should be suspended from the party If you want to see president, you know what you need to do. You're more than this Senator Ndume".
Obasa Sanmi reacted by saying, "Dear Senator. Our people can’t live on handouts. You are in a position to teach our people how to fish and not to give them handouts. Tinubu’s reforms, including the tax reforms you are resisting in the name of a region, are to open up opportunities for our people so that they maintain their dignity of not queuing for food and get stampeded."
Netizen Obasa went further to school the Senator more by saying, "You can mobilize your senatorial district and the LG Chairmen in your district to agricultural chain business and liberate them from poverty. Your job is not only talk in the senate or appear on television. It’s teach and organize the people how they can avail themselves of the opportunities the reforms have thrown up"
Defending the reforms by Tinubu while calling for strategic actions, he posted that, "The reforms are good but they will remain on paper, mouth and even marketed on the media, until a practical approach is applied to the opportunities."
Obasa concluded his posts by telling the Senator that "President Tinubu has initiated reforms, ours is to apply them to become prosperous. Our is not to do cheap talk and pontificate.
Please use your break to get your people into action. Buy tractors and other inputs. Get your LGs to borrow and invest in infrastructure. You will see the life of the people change. Thank you."
Netizen Toyin Noiki reacted by expressing his disappointment with the action of the Senator, describing him as "an awfully disloyal man! Your ilk are why individual development is far away from our poor peoples if u can use important foundational progressive reforms against a sitting president in this foul manner! Little wonder he opposed u being Senate president!", suggesting that the posted video was a malicious move by Ndume to discredit Tinubu.
Fredrick Omoyona @ FOdorige reacted in a sarcastic manner saying, "Ndume is right. What we should simply remind him, is that he is part of the problem. He has been a career politician feasting on the resources of the country and making laws that brought the country to where it is today.He was chairman, senate committee, Army. He could not use his position to secure the north," concluding that "Only a massive non-violent revolution can save Nigeria".
Segun Temillliano reminded the Senator that "Even under Buhari, Jonathan regimes they still queue."
Yakubu Tijani took also took a swipe at Senator Ndumep osting, "What’s your point? Defect to the o
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