The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has disagreed with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, insisting that the Federal Government was not overwhelmed by the security situation.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Mohammed insisted that the Nigerian military had successfully flushed out terrorists from the North-East zone, and the North-West will also be rid of criminal elements soon.
Recall that Obasanjo had lamented that Nigerians are no longer safe anywhere in the country.
Speaking on Saturday while receiving Ugochukwu Williams, a presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at his residence in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, the former Nigerian leader said citizens are no longer sure of safety while travelling on the road, airport and train.
According to Obasanjo, Nigeria is in a very serious situation as the security challenges have overwhelmed the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“So, if anybody comes to say I want to see you, I want to talk to you, I will say ‘you’re welcome’. This is because I believe very strongly, and I have said it publicly and I will say it again, that the situation we are in this country is not a situation where one man will say yes, he has a solution unless we are deceiving ourselves. I believe we need to sit down collectively and look at the situation,” Obasanjo had said.
Reacting, the minister said it was important not to politicise the security situation so as not to deflate the morale of the military.
Punch quotes Mohammed as saying, “The Federal Government is not overwhelmed at all and we are very proud of our military. The string of successes recorded by the military against Boko Haram is what has led to the decimation of their camps and the surrender of thousands of rebels.”
Mohammed on Sunday said the government had trained at least 25,000 constables in police duties and intelligence gathering which will improve crime fighting.
He said the government was boosting the morale of security personnel by providing military hardware including 150 trucks and 60 Armed Personnel Carriers in recent times.
“Also, 10,000 army personnel were recruited recently,” he said.
“People should understand that we are an asymmetrical war and when such war is on, the other party doesn’t have to abide by the rules of engagement but we should stop dampening the morale of our soldiers. What the soldiers need is encouragement. What government needs is more collaboration especially at the state and local government level,” he added.
