A former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, has alleged that the country’s leaders after former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, did little in checkmating insurgency and the rise in terror groups across the nation.
Atiku said that the insecurity across the country have been allowed to fester for too long by Obasanjo’s successors who lacked the political will or were unconcerned about human lives.
Atiku made this assertion in Abuja during a visit by stakeholders from Kogi East Senatorial District, led by former Kogi State Deputy Governor, Simon Achuba.
According to the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) flagbearer during the 2023 presidential election, Obasanjo was decisive in quelling Boko Haram when it reared its head over two decades ago in Yobe.
He said: “So I hold our leadership responsible for all the insecurity that is going on all over the place. First we are under policed in the country. We have so many educated and unemployed. So why can’t we recruit them into the Nigerian Police”.
“You remember when the Boko Haram started in Yobe? It was actually in 2002. We were in the office. The president sent for me. ‘VP, what do we do about this?’ Then 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 uniform and go away. We will get some other people,” Atiku said in a video shared on his official Facebook handle.
Atiku added, “So, I will say there’s a lack of political will on the leaders. When they’re killing your citizens, how can you even eat? They’re killing your citizens and you don’t give a damn; that is the greatest irresponsibility by any political leader, anywhere.
“I want to tell you that we are forming a coalition and all the political parties are involved in the push to unseat the APC. We believe that this is the only way to remove this government from office”.
Earlier, Asuba lamented that the the insecurity has claimed many lives, crippled development across the north and disrupted businesses.
He said: “We as the northern people from the north can pick a candidate and support him to become the next president but we have an issue as northers. There is violence in many communities with the people already fled for safety. This actions that is within the north as affected the unity within the region. And it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that there is peace and order across the country.
“But where the government failed to take adequate step, we believe that we should take a step by ourselves and see everyone of us as brothers from the north”.
Boko Haram has been waging a 15-year insurgency for an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria, which has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million more.
