The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has admitted that he does not understand the Boko Haram phenomenon, lamenting that despite the efforts of the highly-rated Nigerian army, these terrorists are yet to be eliminated.
This was made known on Sunday night by Atiku while answering questions during the People’s Town Hall series organized by Channels Television and its partners and monitored by Nairametrics.
Atiku, who featured alongside his running mate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, who is also the incumbent Governor of Delta State, said he cannot find anywhere in the Borno areas where anybody can hide and cannot be seen.
Atiku to understand the challenge when he becomes president
- Responding to questions on insecurity and his position on Boko Haram, Atiku said, “I still cannot understand why we should have Boko Haram. You see, I served in Borno State when it was in the North-East, and as a Customs officer and I was patrolling the entire North-East, so I am very conversant with the vegetation and with the border areas. I still cannot find a place in the Borno areas where anybody can hide and cannot be seen. I cannot understand honestly, the Boko Haram phenomenon.
- “Sometimes when returning from Europe, 30 feet above, I could see a man walking in Borno State, so where is the place to hide? To the extent that they say there is a place called Sambisa forest. I have been there. I didn’t see a forest. It is just shrubs here and there.
- “So we have deployed the Nigerian military which used to be one of the best in the world. They have fought, you know, a number of the international arena and they have excelled and here we have deployed them with their might and everything and we just could not eliminate Boko Haram. So I am puzzled. So maybe when I get there, I will understand, but honestly, I cannot understand the Boko Haram phenomenon.
- “Everything is there. Politics is there, business is there, security, everything. Of course, the solution is leadership, strong leadership to deal with all these interest groups within the military and outside the military.”
May adopt the UAE system to tackle insecurity
Atiku at the event also said that he may adopt the security system being in use in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to tackle Nigeria’s security challenges if elected President in 2023.
The former vice president noted that the UAE system is primarily based on adopting technology to monitor everybody’s movement and what is going on across the country, adding that adopting the approach will discourage people from committing crimes.
- He said, “The security architecture I admire is the UAE security architecture and it’s primarily based on monitoring. You don’t see policemen in uniform in UAE, you don’t see soldiers but virtually everybody is being monitored on a daily basis and particularly if you are a visitor, from the moment you step into the country or go out, anywhere you are going you are being watched and that is the deployment of technology as far as security is concerned.
- “That is to say we are aiming for the ultimate, but we have to deal with our current security structure. How we reform it to ensure that we give our people a more secure environment to undertake their own legitimate businesses wherever they may be, whether in the rural areas, semi-urban and so on.’’
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The former Vice President said his plan is the immediate requirement that any government should do now because there is a security challenge in every geopolitical zone and each geopolitical zone is peculiar.
United Arab Emirates will be the worst weapon in tackling insecurity issue in Nigeria, especially in regards to Book Haram matter. It’s obvious that our military personnel failed not because they are not skilful enough but because Boko Haram matter is the type that’s political. No power can pull down political strategy except God alone.
I can say this beyond shaddow of doubt that employing United Arab Emirates strategy of technology security will also fail as far as our insecurity is attached to political interests. Our political leaders are behind Boko Haram and terrorist in the nation and that’s why it will be difficult if not impossible to think of defeating them with any useless strategy from the same leaders.
This method can only work in a country where political leaders are not deriving pleasure and satisfaction in the insecurity of the people. Where the leaders are not part of the terrorists, where insecurity of the land has not been politicised and religiously erroneous. We are too divided to waste resources on this. If Atiku is not ready to say the truth, he should go and sit down. No political leaders will say he doesn’t know about Boko Haram whereabouts. They are with us and they are in them.
I strongly hate listening to a leader who has no conscience. No human feeling. Every feeling is dead and the heart has been blocked by selfish ambition that will not last. I think we need to stop playing around with our youths mind. We can see well with our eyes even though we may not talk.
Thanks