Daniel Bwala, President Bola Tinubu’s adviser on policy communication, has defended Tinubu’s past demand that former President Goodluck Jonathan resign following the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls.
The kidnapping of the Chibok girls was the first major mass school abduction in Nigeria and sparked global outrage.
At the time, Tinubu, then a former governor of Lagos State and a leading opposition figure, had criticised Jonathan for failing to secure all parts of the country and called for his resignation.
With insecurity and school kidnappings now rising under Tinubu’s administration, many have revisited his earlier remarks about Jonathan.
However, speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Bwala defended Tinubu, arguing that the call was justified given the situation at the time.
READ ALSO: Tinubu’s Govt Doesn’t Tolerate Negotiation With Terrorists, Bwala Insists
“In the days of Jonathan, they didn’t have an idea of the solution. Why did I say that? They were in denial about the Chibok girls’ kidnapping,” Bwala said.
“When President Tinubu, then Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, called for Jonathan’s resignation, it was a legitimate call.”
Bwala argued that under Jonathan, terrorists not only occupied some local governments but also collected taxes, whereas under Tinubu, they tend to attack and then flee without establishing control.
The presidential adviser also said that the Tinubu-led Federal Government frowns at holding talks with terrorist groups.
Bwala explained that Nigeria’s security challenges are often so multifaceted that they can push any administration into tough, sometimes unconventional, choices.
“There was a time the federal government was negotiating (with terrorists), and I think that el-Rufai (the former Kaduna governor) once talked about a national policy at that time, when they said both states and the federal government can be in a situation where they will have to negotiate,” he said.
“Because if your duty is to preserve the life of people, and citizens of Nigeria are in danger, and negotiation is the only way to save them, and you have to save them, then you have to do all that you need to do to save them at that time.
“But President Tinubu came with this zero tolerance on negotiation because it didn’t fit into this terrorism financing. You see, you are constructively financing terrorism without knowing it.
“So instead of elements who are sponsoring them by giving them the money as ransom to collect the people, they also use the ransom money to buy more weapons.
“So the federal government does not tolerate the idea of negotiation.”
