ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, stated that insecurity in the country is not worsening, emphasizing that the Federal Government is actively taking measures to manage the situation.
Bwala made these remarks on Head to Head, a programme on Al Jazeera hosted by journalist Mehdi Hasan at Conway Hall in London, with the episode shared on the programme’s social media pages on Friday.
Addressing concerns over security challenges in Nigeria, Bwala highlighted that the government is working to contain the situation and noted that the country experienced relative stability during the initial years of the current administration.
“I acknowledge the fact that we have insecurity in Nigeria, and until the hoax narrative of the ‘Christians genocide,’ we began to see back-to-back attacks in the country. For the first two years of the present administration, we experienced substantial peace in Nigeria,” Bwala said.
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He added that no nation is entirely free from security threats.
“There is no country in the world today that is completely free from insecurity. There are parts of London where you cannot go in the evening,” he explained.
On the issue of renewed terrorist attacks in parts of Nigeria, Bwala stated that the country is collaborating internationally to address insecurity.
“That is one of the reasons the President travelled to Turkey, where we reached a bilateral agreement to deal with insecurity.
That is also why we are cooperating with the United States of America and other countries of the world. The reason is that, since 9/11, terrorism has been a global phenomenon, and every country is involved in it,” he said.
Bwala maintained that the situation was not worsening, asserting, “I can’t say it is getting worse. As a government, we are working day and night to deal with the situation.”
“I don’t agree to the fact that it (insecurity) is getting worse,” he added.
He also criticized Western media for painting Nigeria and Africa in a negative light. Using a glass of water as a metaphor, Bwala suggested that Western media might see the glass as half empty, while Nigerians would see it as half full.
“Before the President took office, we knew the situation in Nigeria. When he decided to take bold steps to place the country on a better trajectory, we were well aware of the fact that it was going to incense lots of people,” he said.
Highlighting government measures against terrorism, Bwala noted that several terrorist leaders had been apprehended or eliminated prior to remarks by Donald Trump regarding insecurity in Nigeria.
“Six months before that, we arrested leaders of Boko Haram and Lakurawa, and prior to that, we eliminated a number of terrorists. The US State Department commended Nigeria for that. The US Embassy recognised these efforts even before Trump’s statement.
“We declared national emergency on insecurity six months before Donald Trump’s statement. That was around April or May 2025,” he added.
Responding to questions about the rise in kidnappings, Bwala acknowledged the scale of the issue, describing it as part of a criminal economy.
“I acknowledge that insecurity related to kidnappings has become a crisis economy, but much more than that, I know of our government’s efforts in dealing with that insecurity,” he said.
“If one understands Nigeria’s geography and the nature of insecurity, one will understand that we are confronting a complex, hydra-headed problem.”
Regarding the abduction of schoolchildren, he explained that the government has implemented the Safe Schools Initiative to ensure students’ safety.
“Regarding the kidnapping of children, the government has implemented the Safe Schools Initiative, relocating students from remote, insecure areas to state capitals so they can access the education they need safely,” he added.
Recently, Nigeria has experienced renewed terrorist activities, including attacks on communities and kidnappings across several states.
On Wednesday, suspected terrorists reportedly abducted over 100 women and children in Ngoshe community, Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.
The assailants were also reported to have killed the town’s chief imam, some community elders, and soldiers during the attack, which took place shortly after Muslims broke their fast on that day.