Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said that ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo quickly ended Boko Haram’s activities when the group first emerged during their administration. Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja during a visit from Kogi East stakeholders led by former Kogi Deputy Governor Simon Achuba, Atiku credited strong political will for the early success against the insurgents. He noted that Boko Haram first appeared in Yobe State in 2002, and Obasanjo consulted him on how to respond.
Atiku said, “You remember when the Boko Haram started in Yobe? It was actually in 2002. We were in 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 blamed the group’s later resurgence on the failure of successive leaders to act decisively.
“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.
He served as Nigeria’s Vice President from 1999 to 2007 under President Olusegun Obasanjo during the Fourth Republic, following the end of military rule.
