The Presidency on Sunday responded to a scathing indictment of its handling of the scary security challenges confronting the country by former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
The former president while speaking on Friday at the Plateau State Unity Christmas Carol and Praise Festival held in Jos, the state capital, charged the present administration to stop appealing and negotiating with terrorists.
He said: “Our government must stop apologising and negotiating with terrorists. No matter what religion you belong to. No matter where you come from. No matter your profession, we Nigerians are being killed, and our government seems to be incapable of protecting us.
“We are part of the world community. If our government cannot do it, we have the right to call on the international community to do for us what our government cannot do for us.”
Responding to the former president, Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser Media and Public Communication to President Tinubu, faulted the position taken by Chief Obasanjo.
In two separate tweets in his official X handle, @SundayDareSD, the presidential spokesman accused the former president of selective amnesia as he noted that terrorism incubated under Chief Obasanjo’s watch.
“It is 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; across-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.”
Dare also picked holes in the former President call for military assistance from the international community, submitting that it would amount to surrender of national sovereignty.
“The suggestion that Nigeria should effectively subcontract its internal security to foreign governments is not statesmanship; it is capitulation. Before recommending surrender, the former President should reflect on what he failed to do when these terrorists first began organising under his watch.
“Nigeria will cooperate internationally, yes, but it will not outsource its security or raise a white flag because someone who once had the chance lost his nerve. Yes. 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.”
The presidential aide urged the former president to offer a helping hand to the present administration to surmount the scourge of terrorism rather than open indictment.
He maintained that the Tinubu administration was determined to defeat terror and guarantee security of lives and property.
“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 Turnaround, Providing Security and Building key Infrastructure.
“President Bola Ahmed 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.
“When former leaders disparage the nation’s capacity, they hand psychological victories to the very terrorists murdering, kidnapping and extorting Nigerians – terrorising Nigerians in plain language. A real statesman offers support, not soundbites.”
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