Reveals How Obasanjo Govt Stopped Boko Haram
- Safiu Kehinde
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the government of the day of being unserious in ending insurgency in the country.
Atiku said if the present administration is focused on ending insurgency, it won’t take it more than Two weeks to do so.
The 2023 People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) Presidential candidate stated this while receiving stakeholders of the Kogi East Senatorial District at his residence yesterday.
Led by the former Kogi Deputy Governor, Simon Asuba, the stakeholders had decried the spate of insecurity in the state.
Asuba, who spoke on behalf of the stakeholders, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration of taking the insecurity in the country with leniency.
Reacting, Atiku also shifted blames on the government which he claimed to have displayed attitude towards the handling of insecurity in Nigeria.
“I am at a bewilderment about this issue of internal insecurity. There have been quite a number of theories about this issue of internal insecurity. Some people argued that it is promoted from within.
“Some people argued that it is been promoted from outside. But what I can testify is that there is very unserious attitude by our government.” He said.
According to the former Vice President, it took the Olusegun Obasanjo just two weeks to force Service Chiefs to put an end to Boko Haram.
“You remember when the Boko Haram started. It was actually in 2002. We were in office. The President sent for me. VP what do we do about? It started in Yobe actually. I said Mr. President let’s call the service chiefs and give them a deadline. If they can’t put it down, then they should put down their uniforms and we will get some other people. And he called the service chiefs, I was there and he gave them the marching orders. Within a few week, they put down the insurgency in Yobe. It never came up again until we left office.” He said.
Atiku reiterated lack of political will within the current administration as a factor that made insecurity thrive in the country.
He also dearth of personnel in the Nigerian Police Force as he charged the government to recruit unemployed graduates into the Force.
Meanwhile, the ex-Vice President reiterated his call for coalition as the only means of ousting the current administration.
The coalition, according to him, involved all major political parties, including the PDP, APC, and Labour Party.
“So, one, I will say there is lack of political will. When they are killing your citizens, how can you even eat? They are killing your citizens and you don’t give a damn. It is the greatest irresponsibility by any political leader anywhere in the world.
“So, I hold our leadership responsible for all this insecurity that is going on all over the place.
“We are under policed. We don’t have enough policemen in this country. We have so many people educated and unemployed. Why can’t you recruit them into the police?
“So, gentlemen I want you to understand that it is up to us. You are the leaders of your various communities. Yes we are having a coalition. So, all the major political parties are involved in this coalition, the APC, the PDP, the Labour. All of us are involved. That is the only way to go to face a very incompetent and inefficient government.” He said.