The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has said the efforts of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government in tackling the insecurity in the country have not been good enough.
He however argued that the current situation was better than what was obtainable under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Fayemi, who is a chieftain of the party and Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, in an interview with one of our correspondents, noted that with the recent appointment of new service chiefs, he was hopeful that the war would be won, especially as it tends to boost the morale of the troops on the battlefield.
The country had been engulfed in insecurity problems, through which many lives have been lost. Apart from the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, there have been banditry, kidnappings and armed robberies in different parts of the country.
Meanwhile, during the electioneering that brought his party into power in 2015 and 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari said security, economy and fight against corruption were his cardinal programmes, with a promise to defeat the Boko Haram terrorists. But many Nigerians have expressed disappointment in the way the President has managed the affairs of the nation, especially in the three areas he promised to focus on.
The Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, Lagos, Pastor Tunde Bakare, said during the week that the expectations of Nigerians hadn’t been met under Buhari, adding that rather than getting the change the APC promised, it appeared Nigerians had been short-changed.
However, responding to a question on insecurity and how he felt the government had fared, Fayemi said, “You could say that the situation has not improved much in the sense that Boko Haram has only been technically defeated, not effectively clamped (sic).”
When asked if he would have been comfortable with the situation of things if the APC was not in power, he said, “I was in Maiduguri last month to commiserate with the governor when those 43 farmers were killed, so you could say, yes, they are still there. It shows that a lot more could be done by our government. Our best has not been good enough but significantly better than what transpired under the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.
“There is no question about that, but that is not comfort for victims, what victims want to see is obliteration of these marauders and we have got to figure out whoever is going to take over from this administration. We must help the Buhari administration to finally nail the coffin of Boko Haram before the administration leaves office. That, for me, is why I am excited by the recent changes of service chiefs.
“There are those who will say changing service chiefs will not change the status of the war, I can tell you as a student of security that war is largely won by the morale of the fighting men. If the fighting men don’t have confidence in the leadership, they will not display the necessary courage for the battle.
“I think the President has chosen well in terms of the people who have been selected as service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff. They are tested and trusted by the men and they are likely to deliver a lot better on the field.”
The governor argued that Nigeria could have been overrun by criminals if the APC was not in power. He also commended the President for those he appointed as service chiefs, saying with better intelligence, greater coordination with neighbouring security forces, partnership with the civilians from affected communities and the right equipment he was confident that the criminals would soon be defeated.
