The Nigerian Presidency has launched a blistering attack on former President Olusegun Obasanjo after he openly criticised the Bola Tinubu administration’s handling of insecurity and suggested Nigerians could seek help from the international community if the government fails to protect them.
In his recent remarks, Obasanjo lamented that “Nigerians are being killed every day” and argued that “if the government cannot protect its people, we have the right to call on the international community to act,” accusing the Tinubu government of negotiating with bandits instead of using Nigeria’s security capacity to “take them out.”
Responding in a strongly worded statement, the Presidency accused Obasanjo of hypocrisy and attempting to undermine the current government’s efforts to tackle terrorism and banditry. Officials argued that Obasanjo, who led Nigeria both as a military ruler and civilian president, “lacks the moral right” to lecture any administration on security or governance, insisting his tenure was marked by serious human‑rights violations and unresolved conflicts.
They recalled that several security flashpoints, including communal and ethnic crises, worsened under his watch, and said his record showed “impunity,” not the democratic values he now claims to defend.
The Presidency further rejected Obasanjo’s call for foreign intervention, describing it as irresponsible and an affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty. Government aides maintained that the Tinubu administration is already “fully engaged” in confronting insecurity through military operations, security sector reforms and regional cooperation, and argued that inviting outside powers to intervene would send the wrong signal to terrorists and criminal gangs. Instead of “inciting panic,” they said, Obasanjo should support national efforts or keep his criticisms within “responsible limits.”
By turning its fire on Obasanjo personally, the Presidency has signalled that it views his comments not just as policy criticism, but as a political attack capable of weakening public confidence in government at a time of continued banditry and insurgent violence. Whether the exchange leads to any deeper review of security strategy or remains a war of words between Nigeria’s past and present leaders remains to be seen.
