President Bola Tinubu’s Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has stated that the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government maintains a firm stance against 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.”