US Air Strikes on Sokoto: The example of statesmanship by Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, by Ayuba Ahmad
“I have noted the airstrikes carried out as part of ongoing counter terrorism efforts between Nigeria and the United States. I urge our communities to remain calm and law-abiding, as authorities clarify the circumstances of the operations.” … Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal in his very first statement after the US Christmas Day air strikes in parts of Sokoto State.
The attributes of a statesman manifest best in situations of intense, overwhelming exigencies. These can be at times of war, famine, economic depression, political turmoil, social conflicts or other forms of natural calamities in society.
Statesmen are recognised and respected political figures for their skilled, experienced, and selfless focus on the common good. Unlike the ordinary politician whose interest is usually self-centred, the statesman is propelled by the principles and canons of duty, vision and mission.
In a nutshell, the statesman is exalted for his wisdom and sound judgment on issues of public interest. He is distinct from your run-of-the-mill politician whose primary goals are mundane, narrow in scope and bereft of noble or lofty ideals. Winston Churchill, the historic wartime British Prime Minister and the iconic South African leader, Nelson Mandela, offer perfect, universal illustrations of statesmen.
READ ALSO: Beyond the resignations of Ahmed Farouk, Gbenga Komolafe, by Ayuba Ahmad
Furthermore, a statesman is distinct from an “elder statesman.” As the name connotes, the elder statesman is so named, basically, on account of his age and his past roles on the national political landscape. Unlike the statesman who is so revered in recognition of outstanding leadership accomplishments, an elder statesman is more of an honorarium for a former political leader who has withdrawn from partisan politics.
By all parameters of its definitions, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, just clocking sixty in a few days hence, comes up as one of the contemporary Nigerian political leaders who is eminently qualified to be identified as a statesman.
As the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015, he displayed throughout the streaks of dynamic leadership qualities of a pan-Nigerian statesman. That was in the way he deftly piloted, without major rancorous incidents, in the usually tumultuous assemblage of members of variegated, divergent social, political, and ethno-cultural backgrounds.
Sokoto State, in its cultural mix, is as such, an atomistic society. Yet, in spite of its homogeneity, Sokoto is highly volatile and combustible due to its being in a perpetual state of political bickerings amongst the contending political elites.
This was the situation when he assumed office as governor in 2015. He met a fractious political landscape, divided along partisan enclaves and one that was simmering with telltale signs of a state at the edge of anomie. The prevailing order of the time was youth restiveness, hooliganism (the notorious “Area Boys”), political brigandage, different forms of violent crimes and palpable general breakdown of law and order, decayed social and economic infrastructures.
In his trademark style of leadership, self-effacing and single-minded commitment, then Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, with candour, immediately embarked on the arduous task of rolling back a state on the brink. This entailed serious efforts of recalibrating systems, agencies and institutions that had been virtually driven aground through maladministration.
At the end of the day, Sokoto State substantially regained its glorious traditions of scholarship, moral values, etiquette and mores that were so bruised and eroded in the preceding years of the locusts.
The many milestones of his eight-year sojourn as governor, manifested in the myriad of newly constructed schools and those rehabilitated; the number of revamped moribund healthcare institutions; the rural roads, water and electrification projects.
Very significantly, his practical and feasible youth empowerment schemes drastically resulted in the reduction of the population of young men and women who were hitherto hooked up to the dangerous and ruinous lives of crime and drugs.
He carried on as a statesman rather than a politician. No calling out, witch-hunting, scapegoating or disparaging of predecessors. Pertinently, despite it all, he did not engage in a hilarious, cacophonous chest-thumping celebration of his phenomenal feats.
It was vintage Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the temperate statesman, that was on display last Friday, 26th December, 2025, in the wake of the USA airstrike at Jabo, in the Tambuwal local government area of his Sokoto South senatorial district.
In his characteristic manner of reactions even when most people get emotional and upbeat, his response only came after “reaching out to the relevant authorities and finding out the facts of what had happened.” Thus, his informed, calm, cautious, sober and dispassionate statement made as a response to the incident.
Contrary to the outpouring of outrage and invectives against the USA and the Nigerian government by many otherwise, eminent personalities and political leaders, Senator Tambuwal showed restraint and statesmanship.
In his message, he urged his constituents of Sokoto South Senatorial District “to remain calm, vigilant and law abiding”, while assuring them that: “Information available to me from top security authorities indicated that the air strikes targeted the Lakurawa terrorists’ enclave in Tangaza.”
In a temperate tone of a leader, he cautioned the wider community of Nigerians to refrain from giving religious or political interpretations to the crisis:
“Terrorists are nobody’s friends and we must avoid narratives that divide us. The narratives should be about securing the lives and properties of Nigerians.”
On the opinion held in some quarters against the collaboration between Nigeria and the United States of America, Tambuwal again, advised:
“We must understand that, this is not a religious war, it is not an ethnic war. It is about securing our country. So help may come from unexpected quarters. We should seek out where we can get genuine help without undertones.”
As the Senator from Sokoto South Senatorial District, where Jabo, the site of the airstrike, is located, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal could have come out spitting fire and brimstone in reaction to the incident. But, as a quintessential statesman, he opted to show caution, reason, altruism, integrity and self-control.
As a leading opposition figure, whose goal is to dislodge the ruling party in the 2027 elections, the US airstrike on his constituency offered him a perfect opportunity to go for the jugular of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government. Instead, he chose the course of a temperate, dispassionate and reasonable patriotic leader.
Follow the Neptune Prime channel on WhatsApp:
Do you have breaking news, interview request, opinion, suggestion, or want your event covered? Email us at neptuneprime2233@gmail.com
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://neptuneprime.com.ng/us-air-strikes-on-sokoto-the-example-of-statesmanship-by-aminu-waziri-tambuwal-by-ayuba-ahmad/&media=https://neptuneprime.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG-20260106-WA0000.jpg&description="I have noted the airstrikes carried out as part of ongoing counter terrorism efforts between Nigeria and the United States. I urge our comm){kind=link}