‘The optics are terrible’: wedding guest list in spotlight as violence grips swathes of Nigeria

It has been described as Nigeria’s wedding of the year – and it is only February.

This month, five sons and five daughters of the junior defence minister Bello Matawalle married their spouses in an opulent six-day celebration in Abuja. The sheer scale of the extravaganza in the capital prompted one of the comperes to exclaim on Instagram: “First of its kind … @guinnessworldrecords check this out.”

The maximalist decor featured cascading crystal chandeliers hung above a mirrored floor in the reception hall. Five vendors were contracted solely to serve water and other non-alcoholic drinks.

The guest list read like a roll-call of the political and business elite. At the wedding fatiha on 6 February, the flowing robes of the presidents of Nigeria and neighbouring São Tomé and Príncipe competed for space with those of Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, alongside more than a dozen serving and former governors and ministers.

After blessing the couples, the presiding imam prayed that the tenure of Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, “will bring hope to the hopeless”.

Hours later, roughly 190 miles away in Benue state, gunmen stormed a night vigil at a Catholic church, abducting nine teenagers who remain in captivity. The kidnappers demanded 30m naira (£16,500) for their release.

Meanwhile, in Kwara state, near the border with Benin, a mass funeral was under way for more than 150 people murdered by jihadists four days earlier.

Bodies of the victims of an overnight attack are lowered into a mass grave in Kwara state. Photograph: Ibrahim Ndamitso/Reuters

Tinubu dispatched an army battalion to Kwara. Yet it was not until the morning of 7 February – four days after the attack – that the highest-profile visitor arrived: the vice-president, Kashim Shettima, who was also a guest at the Abuja wedding.

The split-screen contrast cast a harsh light on Nigeria’s interlinked security crises, perpetrated by a range of actors including jihadists and armed gangs locally known as bandits. It also renewed criticism of the government, which was accused of appearing to prioritise the wedding celebration over matters of state.

Confidence McHarry, a senior analyst at the Nigerian risk consultancy SBM Intelligence, said the large political turnout as “tone deaf”.

Joachim MacEbong, a senior analyst at the Lagos office of the security firm Control Risks, said: “The optics are terrible, but it is what we’ve come to expect from most of our leaders over time. Nigeria’s elite prefer to bolster their political standing by fraternising with each other first, before attending to the needs of Nigerians.”

Tinubu’s office has been contacted for comment.

In December, Nigeria’s then defence minister, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, resigned his position on health grounds after Donald Trump claimed a “Christian genocide” was under way in the country. The characterisation – long promoted by the US religious and political right – has been rejected by Nigeria’s government and many independent experts, who note that both Christians and Muslims have suffered amid the country’s security crises.

Khausara Saleem with her three-month-old baby. She fled her village during a massacre by suspected jihadists. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Matawalle, who joined Tinubu’s cabinet after four years as governor of the north-western state of Zamfara, one of the hotspots of the security crisis, was passed over for promotion. A former army chief who previously reported to him was named senior defence minister instead.

Against that backdrop, the presence of so many senior Nigerian government figures at the wedding seemed incomprehensible.

However, analysts suggested the presence of Tinubu and others should be seen in the context of the president’s attempts to court Nigeria’s northern establishment a year out from a general election.

While his economic reforms are being hailed by foreign institutions and investors, the benefits are yet to trickle down, especially in the north, where he remains unpopular.

McHarry said: “Tinubu as a president is not somebody who is going to do something for you without gaining in terms of political capital in either the short term or the long term.

“He understands the fact that the northern elite do not like him as president. And because of the election … he needs Matawalle.”

A woman passes the burnt remains of her village after a suspected jihadist attack in Woro. Photograph: Light Oriye Tamunotonye/AFP/Getty Images

In Kwara, villagers told the Associated Press that no help came during the 10-hour killing spree. “We did not see anybody from when it started in the evening till the morning when it ended,” said Iliyaus Ibrahim, a farmer who lost his brother and whose pregnant sister-in-law was kidnapped along with her two children.

There has been no let-up in attacks in the weeks since. On 18 February, police said at least 33 people were killed when Islamic militants launched simultaneous attacks on the Biu community in Kebbi state in the north-west. The next day, armed men killed at least 38 people in the village of Dutse Dan Ajiya in Zamfara state. A local legislator blamed bandits.

In the run-up to the 2019 election, Tinubu’s campaign team ran on the slogan “Renewed Hope”, promising to tackle insecurity and deliver prosperity. Analysts say the country’s most vulnerable people are yet to see marked improvement on either front, and a sense of neglect could further erode confidence.

“The president could, for example, brief the nation on progress made since he declared a state of emergency on security on 26 November,” MacEbong said. “It is approaching three months since then. An update would be in order.”