The Presidency has berated former President Olusegun Obasanjo for painting the Tinubu administration as “unable to protect Nigerians” in his recent comment on insecurity in Nigeria.
Sunday Dare, Special Adviser, Media & Public Communication to President Bola Tinubu, who knocked the former President Obasanjo, in a post on his X handle on Sunday, said terrorism took root on his watch and grew because it was not stopped.
“It is a historical fact that the ideological foundations and early cells of Boko Haram were incubated during Obasanjo’s civilian presidency.
“While they recruited, indoctrinated, built camps, and flaunted authority, the state failed to act decisively. What began as a preventable extremist sect transformed into: A violent insurgency. A cross-border terrorist franchise. A regional menace aligned with global jihadist movements.
“For the leader under whom the first seeds of terrorism were allowed to germinate to now issue public lectures is not just ironic, it is reckless,” he said.
Dare stated that Tinubu’s strategy meets the threat head-on, noting that President Tinubu is not facing a conventional security challenge, but confronting terrorism in full-spectrum form, both internal and trans-national.
He explained that President Tinubu’s strategy was clear: “Kinetic Pressure, Modernizing military capability, Intensifying intelligence-led operations, Squeezing terrorist mobility and dismantling logistics, Retaking and holding territory.
He listed others under Non-Kinetic Dominance, to include Restoring governance in underserved and contested zones, Deploying economic stabilization and community programmes, Counter-radicalization and reintegration initiatives, Building trust to deny terrorists the human terrain they exploit.
“Whole-of-Government, Whole-of-Nation Because terrorists thrive in division. Nigeria defeats them through unity,” he added.
According to the SA, Nigeria would cooperate internationally, but it would not outsource its security or raise a white flag because someone who once had the chance lost his nerve.
He also mentioned that “Nigeria needs the support and understanding of the United States and that is already ongoing. And of course, the collaboration of other allied nations. The crime at hand is transnational. Every ungoverned space must come under scrutiny.”
Dare maintained that when former leaders disparage the nation’s capacity, they hand psychological victories to the very terrorists murdering, kidnapping and extorting Nigerians – terrorizing Nigerians in plain language. Adding that areal statesman offers support, not soundbites.
He stated that if Obasanjo wishes to help, he should acknowledge the past failures that allowed terrorists to gain a foothold, and then support ongoing efforts, not undermine them.
“Let him put his position and connections at Nigeria’s disposal like he has done for other Countries. Not seek to put down an administration that is fully engaging in many fronts: Economic Turn around, Providing Security and Building key Infrastructure,” he added.
The SA declared that under Tinubu, Nigeria will defeat terrorism, saying that President Bola Tinubu remains committed to securing every inch of Nigeria by confronting terrorists with strength, unity, and a whole-of-government strategy.
“Let all patriots join hands now and not raise alarms. This administration will not be distracted by selective amnesia wrapped in elder-statesmanship, nor will it allow those who midwifed Nigeria’s early security failures to rewrite history,” he said.
