The Presidency has dismissed claims that Nigeria is under siege due to insecurity, maintaining that the country remains largely safe for citizens despite reported incidents of attacks and kidnappings in some areas.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, argued that media reports often create the impression that insecurity has engulfed the entire nation when, in reality, such incidents are limited to specific locations.
According to Onanuga, millions of Nigerians continue to travel across the country daily without encountering security threats.
He said reports of criminal activities should not be interpreted as evidence that the entire country is unsafe.
“Don’t let people frighten you that the entire country is under siege. It’s not so. There are security breaches,” Onanuga stated.
The presidential aide cited personal experiences to support his position, revealing that he recently travelled by road from Lagos to Oyo State to attend a burial ceremony without incident.
“I travelled from Lagos to Oyo to attend a burial ceremony. Don’t let people…the problem in Nigeria is that the media is even creating many problems. The way they report insecurity as if the entire country is consumed,” he said.
Onanuga also recounted a conversation with the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), who reportedly informed him that he drove from Abuja to Kebbi State by road.
“Some people do it. I know someone that does it. In fact, some came to my office yesterday. The Executive Secretary of NELFUND. He told me, I didn’t ask him. He said he drove from Abuja to Kebbi by road,” Onanuga added.
While acknowledging the existence of security breaches across the country, the presidential spokesman noted that many reported attacks and kidnappings occur at night, stressing that authorities had previously advised Nigerians against travelling during late hours.
“Any time I read about a kidnap or an attack somewhere, sometimes I look at the time. I said, wow, it happened around 8pm, 9pm, sometimes 1am,” he said.
“Sometimes ago, the police told people to stop travelling at night. That was before President Bola Tinubu.”
The remarks come amid ongoing concerns over insecurity in parts of Nigeria, with the Presidency insisting that isolated incidents should not be used to portray the entire country as unsafe.
