Insecurity: Tinubu Was Right to Ask Jonathan to Step Down — Bwala

Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has defended Tinubu’s 2014 call for former President Goodluck Jonathan to resign after the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, insisting the criticism was justified at the time.

The Chibok kidnapping, which occurred in 2014, was Nigeria’s first major mass school abduction and drew global outrage. Tinubu, then a leading opposition figure, had accused Jonathan of failing to secure the country and demanded his resignation.

With school kidnappings and insecurity again on the rise under the Tinubu administration, many Nigerians have resurfaced those comments and questioned whether the same standard should now apply to him. However, speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Bwala said Tinubu’s former position was legitimate.

According to Bwala, the Jonathan administration was in denial about the Chibok abduction and lacked clear solutions at the time. He also argued that terrorists under Jonathan’s government occupied local government areas and even collected taxes, unlike the current situation where attackers strike and retreat without holding territory.

Bwala further reiterated that the Tinubu administration operates a strict zero-tolerance policy on negotiating with terrorists. He noted that past governments were sometimes forced into talks to save lives but insisted that such negotiations ultimately strengthen terrorist groups.

“You are constructively financing terrorism without knowing it,” Bwala said, explaining that ransom payments are often used to purchase more weapons. He maintained that Tinubu rejected negotiation entirely because it fuels terrorism financing.