A former vice-president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has said that leaders after former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, did little in checkmating insurgency and the rise in terror groups across the nation.
Atiku made this assertion on Wednesday in Abuja during a visit by stakeholders from Kogi East Senatorial District, led by former Kogi State Deputy Governor, Simon Achuba.
“So I hold our leadership responsible for all the insecurity that is going on all over the place”
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.
“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.
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.