The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Mr Atiku Abubakar has said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo gave the Boko Haram insurgents a bloody nose but successive leaders failed to deal decisively with the non-state actors.
Atiku who was Obasanjo’s deputy from 199-2007 stated this during a visit by stakeholders from Kogi East Senatorial District, led by the former deputy governor of Kogi State, Mr Simon Achuba.
Atiku attributed the early success against the insurgents to strong political will stressing that Obasanjo swiftly ended Boko Haram’s activities when the group first appeared in Yobe State in 2002 during their administration.
“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.
“And he called the Service Chiefs; I was there, and gave them marching orders, and within a few weeks, they put down the insurgency in Yobe. It never came up again until we left office,” Atiku said.
He emphasised that presidents after Obasanjo have been bereft of the political will to contain the insurgents.
“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.
“So I hold our leadership responsible for all the insecurity that is going on all over the place,” he added.
