Again, Buhari claims Nigeria is more secure under him than Jonathan administration

From Ogundele Olanrewaju

President Muhammudu Buhari has again said the security situation in Nigeria has improved under his watch than the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The president stated this on Wednesday during the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in Abuja.

The president noted that the major security challenges have remained in the North-central and North-west, saying, the North-east has seen relative peace.

The claim by Mr Buhari comes in the midst of worsening insecurity in the country.

Insecurity in Nigeria has worsened under the Buhari administration as the country witnessed some of the bloodiest attacks in its history.

Almost every geo-political zone in the country suffered one form of attack or the other, notably from outfits such as Boko Haram/ISWAP, IPOB separatists and bandits.

The country also witnessed the highest number of school children abductions and hostage-taking since 2014 when the Chibok school girls were abducted.

Besides, the country also witnessed the highest number of jailbreaks in a single year as no fewer than four prisons were affected.

Also, bandits overshadowed the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists as they made some states in the North-west and North-central the epicentres of killings in the country.

Although the President Muhammadu Buhari administration repeatedly claimed that Nigerians are more secure under it than under the previous administrations, this assertion has been disputed by facts on the ground.

Speaking to his party members, Mr Buhari assured them that he will use the same measure he deployed in tackling Boko Haram in the North-east and other forms of restiveness in the South-south in bringing peace to other parts of the country.

He said his administration will go harder on bandits and other terrorists who cause trouble particularly in the North-west.

“I will like us to reflect on what the situation was before we came in. How many Local Government Areas were under the control of terrorists in the North-East?

“In the South-South, we all know what the situation, was; now we have relative peace. With the resources at our disposal, we have done very well.

“People are very forgetful. Our main problem now is in the North West and North Central. People are killing one another in these places, what for? We are going to be very tough,’’ he said.

Mr Buhari urged party members to be more mindful of the pitfalls that led to the ouster of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.

“The PDP thought that only time could remove them, and the time actually came. They thought it was impossible to lose elections,’’ he added.