Bolaji Abdullahi, interim national publicity secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says President Bola Tinubu is out of touch with the reality of Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on Wednesday, Abdullahi criticised presidential aide Daniel Bwala for suggesting that insecurity in the country had been “largely degraded.”
Earlier on the programme, Bwala had dismissed recent violent incidents as “global tendencies unrelated to governance quality.” But Abdullahi called the comment “dangerous” and accused the president’s inner circle of feeding him “false narratives.”
“I feel sorry for President Tinubu, because if this is the kind of narrative he gets to hear all the time, then it’s obvious he lives in a bubble,” Abdullahi said.
“He was painting a picture of El Dorado, as if the country is in a perfect state.”
He cited the ongoing abduction of six law students, for whom kidnappers are reportedly demanding a ransom of ₦120 million, as evidence that the situation on the ground contradicts official rhetoric.
“Imagine the parents of these children, who were simply going to school, being abducted,” Abdullahi said. “And kidnappers have the nerve to actually demand ₦120 million to release these children. These children are still in captivity as I speak.”
He urged the president to step outside Aso Rock and engage directly with citizens.
“Tinubu needs to leave the villa, go out on the streets, and talk to people—and stop listening to this kind of narrative. He also needs to stop listening to state governors, who are only saying what they think will endear them to power.”
Abdullahi also weighed in on the government’s two-year performance, dismissing debates over whether the administration’s scorecard is “half full or half empty.”
“That’s not the real question. The real question is: are people’s lives improving?” he asked, noting that many businesses have collapsed under the current economic conditions, despite their owners doing nothing wrong.
