Chief Sunday Dare, the Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, on Sunday, the 30th of November, 2025, issued a sharp challenge to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, demanding he acknowledge his part in the nation’s security decline and actively support, rather than undermine, the current counter-terrorism efforts.
Writing in a strongly worded statement on his verified X handle, @SundayDareSD, Dare lambasted Obasanjo’s recent critiques, which suggested the Tinubu administration was failing to protect Nigerians. Dare described these comments as not only “hypocritical” but “ignoble,” squarely placing the origin of Nigerian terrorism during the former leader’s time in office.
Dare advised that if the former president genuinely wanted to contribute, “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.” He stressed that genuine statesmanship requires introspection, “not finger-pointing.”
The presidential aide specifically recalled that Boko Haram’s ideological cells and initial structures “were incubated during Obasanjo’s civilian presidency,” a period when, he claimed, extremist groups were quietly recruiting, indoctrinating, establishing camps, and challenging state authority without facing decisive state action. Dare further stated that, “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 criticized what he labelled as attempts by Obasanjo and “a few habitual presidential aspirants” to portray the Tinubu administration as incompetent, arguing that Nigerians have not forgotten those who “looked away when these threats first sprouted.”
The Special Adviser detailed the contemporary threat landscape, explaining that Nigeria is currently confronting a complex, multilayered terrorist ecosystem. This threat comprises internationally designated terror organisations, ISIS- and al-Qaeda-linked franchises operating across the Sahel, local extremist groups masquerading as bandits, cross-border cells exploiting porous frontiers, and ideological insurgents operating in ungoverned spaces. He insisted, “Let’s call them what they all are: terrorists.”
Dare also faulted Obasanjo’s reported suggestion that Nigeria should effectively subcontract aspects of its internal security to foreign governments, dismissing the idea as “capitulation, not statesmanship.” He argued that “Before recommending surrender, the former President should reflect on what he failed to do when these terrorists first began organizing under his watch,” adding that undermining the nation’s capacity only gives terrorists psychological victories.
Defending the current security strategy, the presidential adviser stated that the government is meeting the threat “head-on” through a blend of kinetic (military) and non-kinetic measures. This includes modernising military capability, intensifying intelligence-led operations, restoring governance in neglected areas, deploying economic stabilisation programmes, countering radicalisation, and strengthening community trust.
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Dare affirmed that while Nigeria is actively cooperating with the United States and allied nations, it “will not outsource its security or raise a white flag because someone who once had the chance lost his nerve.” He warned that former leaders who publicly disparage ongoing efforts weaken national resolve, concluding that “a real statesman offers support, not sound bites.”
Under President Tinubu, Dare said, Nigeria is committed to “securing every inch of the country by confronting terrorists with strength, unity, and a whole-of-government strategy.” He stressed that the administration “will not be distracted by selective amnesia wrapped in elder-statesmanship.” Dare also urged the former President to “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 on many fronts: economic turnaround, providing security, and building key infrastructure.”
Dare maintained that through unity of purpose, Nigeria will eventually defeat terrorism, urging all patriots to “join hands now and not raise alarms.”