The Presidency has fired back at former President Olusegun Obasanjo, accusing him of allowing terrorism to take hold during his administration and insisting he is not in a position to criticise President Bola Tinubu over Nigeria’s current security challenges.
Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, issued the strongly worded statement on X on Sunday, responding to Obasanjo’s comments suggesting the President should seek foreign assistance if he cannot contain insecurity.
Dare described Obasanjo’s recommendation that Nigeria “subcontract” its internal security to foreign governments as irresponsible, arguing that the ex-president failed to act when terrorist threats first emerged.
“This administration will not be distracted by selective amnesia wrapped in elder-statesmanship,” Dare wrote.
“Those who midwifed Nigeria’s early security failures cannot rewrite history. The individuals who looked away when these threats first sprouted now want to sit in judgment. Nigerians know better.”
He insisted that the Tinubu government is confronting terrorists of all kinds—local, regional, and international—and will not surrender the nation’s sovereignty under the guise of foreign help.
Dare added that Obasanjo and “habitual presidential aspirants” attempting to paint the current administration as incapable of protecting Nigerians are being “hypocritical and ignoble.”
Obasanjo had recently stated that if Tinubu cannot solve the worsening insecurity, he should seek international support. The presidency, however, says such advice amounts to capitulation and a failure of leadership.
