Tinubu Presidency Hits Back at Obasanjo: ‘Insurgency Sprouted Under Your Watch’

 

The Presidency has taken a swipe at former President Olusegun Obasanjo, accusing him and other prominent critics of attempting to diminish President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing efforts to curb terrorism and restore national security.

In a strongly worded statement on Sunday titled “Between Tinubu’s Capability and the Ignobility of Pseudo Statesmanship,” Presidential Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, faulted Obasanjo’s recent remarks on the state of insecurity.

Obasanjo, speaking at an event in Jos on Friday, had expressed deep concern over Nigeria’s deteriorating security environment and suggested that citizens reserve the right to seek foreign intervention if their government cannot guarantee safety.

He said:

> “No matter your tribe, religion, or profession, Nigerians are being killed, and our government appears incapable of protecting us. If our government cannot do it, we have the right to call on the international community.”

 

But Dare fired back, describing the former President’s comments as “hypocritical, ignoble, and a subtle call for national surrender.”

According to him, Obasanjo glossed over the fact that Boko Haram’s ideological roots and early structures emerged during his administration, where the state failed to respond firmly to the budding extremist movement.

Dare argued that what began as a fringe sect under Obasanjo later evolved into a full-blown insurgency, destabilising communities and aligning with transnational terror networks.

“It is reckless for the leader under whose watch the group found its footing to now lecture Nigerians on security,” Dare said.

He warned that persistent public criticism from former presidents and opposition figures—such as Obasanjo, Atiku Abubakar, and others—amounts to bolstering the morale of terrorists by projecting Nigeria as weak and uncoordinated.

“When former leaders disparage the nation’s capacity, they hand psychological victories to the very terrorists murdering and kidnapping Nigerians,” he said.

The Presidency maintained that President Tinubu is deploying a multi-pronged approach—military pressure, intelligence operations, community rebuilding, and deradicalisation programmes—to weaken terror networks.

Dare urged Obasanjo to acknowledge his own administration’s failings instead of “weaponising selective amnesia” to undermine a government working to strengthen security, revive the economy, and rebuild critical infrastructure.

He noted that Obasanjo’s stature should be used to support national efforts, not demoralise them, adding that Tinubu remains unwavering in his resolve to secure the country.