Insecurity worse under Buhari’s leadership, Presidency confesses

Garba Shehu, President Muhammadu Buhari’s media aide has agreed with the UK-based publication, The Economist, that Nigeria’s insecurity has taken a turn for the worse since the ex-military dictator was elected as a civilian president in 2015.

“The Economist is also accurate to state that they (insecurity challenges) have come to a head under President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration,” the president’s media acknowledged in a statement reacting to the report.

The publication noted that under Buhari, Nigeria had become a crime scene of destructive magnitude on the African continent, pointing out that terrorists and armed bandits are running wild because Buhari is corrupt and lazy, failing to do anything but render lip service following every deadly attack.

While admitting that insecurity has taken a deep plunge, spiraling out of control, Shehu defended the Nigerian leader as more purposeful and pragmatic than previous administrations.

“Yet they do so, because for so long, under previous administrations, whether military or democratic, tough decisions have been ducked, and challenges never fully met – with the effect of abetting these dangers and allowing them all to fester and grow,” the presidential spokesman claimed. “It is only the Buhari leadership which has sought – ever, in over one hundred years – to identify the root causes of the herder-farmer clashes and find durable solutions.”

In July, the bandits shut down a Nigerian Air Force jet in Zamfara and invaded the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna the following month.

Although Buhari acknowledged bandits have been terrorising the country, his administration has been reluctant to declare bandits as terrorists because they have yet to declare a political or religious goal, a key requisite in designating a movement as terrorists under international regulations.

In November 2020, Boko Haram members killed 66 people, mostly farmers and fishermen at Koshobe village near Zabarmari, Jere Local Government Area of Borno State. Garba Shehu was criticized after his interview with BBC where he said the victims didn’t get military clearance to farm.

In December 2020, about 333 students were abducted in the town of Kankara, in Katsina state. Garba Shehu came under heavy criticism when he said only 10 students were abducted contrary to the state government and media claims. He would later apologize for misleading the public