The claim by the present administration that the government of Dr Goodluck Jonathan fostered the activities of Boko Haram is patently false, writes Reno Omokri
When Garba Shehu says that the Goodluck Jonathan administration increased the activities of terrorists, he betrays a very shallow grasp of history which I will now prove with the benefit of some historical facts.
When the Jonathan administration imposed a state of emergency in certain local governments in the Northeast of Nigeria to contain terrorists, it was precisely Muhammadu Buhari that said on Monday the 3rd of June 2013 that ‘the military offensive against Boko Haram is anti North’.
Again, after the Jonathan administration banned Boko Haram in 2013, it was precisely Lai Mohammed, President Buhari’s current minister for information, who on Monday the 10th of June, 2013 said that banning Boko Haram was unconstitutional and that “the proscription stifles the press and tampers with the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.”
So it is therefore rich for the Buhari administration to start making these claims against the Jonathan government.
It may be that Garba Shehu is not aware that this administration has lost any credibility it has especially as regards the anti terror war.
On Thursday the 24th of December, 2015 President Muhammadu Buhari told the world that Boko Haram was ‘technically defeated’ and gave himself a pat on the back after claiming that the terror group had lost its capacity to conduct “conventional attacks”.
Since that time, Boko Haram has attacked military barracks and military formations multiple times as reported in the media.
Since that time, there has been an upsurge in suicide attacks with more than 30 attacks reported in the media. Last week alone, there have been three such suicide attacks with almost 20 deaths, according to media reports.
There has also been attacks on military and police convoys with Boko Haram terrorists releasing a video this week of several women it says it kidnapped from a police convoy.
Nigerians may want to note that it was under the Buhari administration that the World Economic Forum on Tuesday June 20, 2017 listed Nigeria as the fifth most dangerous country in the world because instances of Fulani Herdsmen terrorism are so rampant and continue with impunity.
Fulani herdsmen operating in Nigeria were also named the fourth most deadly terrorists group in the world by the Global Terrorism Index on Wednesday November 18, 2014. This is not surprising in a situation where a governor, who happens to be a close confidante of Buhari, allegedly confessed to giving Fulani Herdsmen money.
It may also be recalled that on February 2, 2017 the US Congress cited Nigeria “as the most dangerous place for Christians in the world and that impunity for those responsible for the killing of Christians in the country seems to be widespread.â€
All these are proof positive that not only has Boko Haram not been defeated, they have metastasized under Buhari and indeed other terrorist groups have become emboldened to expand their activity nationwide.
Nigerians will remember that the Jonathan administration was able to crush Boko Haram in the first quarter of 2015 which was why the 2015 elections were able to hold throughout the entire Northeast of Nigeria.
The question that Nigerians may want to ask is if elections can hold in all areas of Borno state today. The answer to that question will show who between Buhari and former Jonathan really defeated Boko Haram.
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Omokri , author, wrote in from Lagos.
