The Presidency on Sunday criticised former President Olusegun Obasanjo for failing to act decisively during his tenure, allowing Boko Haram to grow from a small sect into a major terrorist threat.
Presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare said, “Terrorism took root on his watch and grew because it was not stopped. 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. 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 rejected claims by Obasanjo and other critics suggesting that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is incapable of protecting Nigerians, describing such remarks as hypocritical, misleading, and dangerous. He noted that Nigeria now faces a complex terrorist network, including ISIS-linked and al-Qaeda-linked groups, violent extremist cells posing as bandits, cross-border terror gangs, and ideological insurgents operating in ungoverned areas.
“What started as a preventable sect during Obasanjo’s tenure later mutated into a violent insurgency and a regional terror franchise aligned with global jihadist movements,” Dare said.
He urged Obasanjo to acknowledge the failures of his administration and use his influence to support ongoing anti-terror efforts instead of publicly undermining Nigeria’s security. “A real statesman offers support, not soundbites,” Dare said.
Dare highlighted that President Tinubu is confronting a full-spectrum terrorist threat through a comprehensive strategy combining modern military operations, intelligence-driven interventions, governance restoration in underserved communities, counter-radicalisation programmes, economic stabilisation, and efforts to build trust with local populations.
“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,” Dare said, calling on all Nigerians to unite in the fight against terrorism.
