By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday finally agreed with the position of most Nigerians that the security situation in the country is parlous and dire, even as he claims he has done his best.
Assessing the state of security in the country today, the President described the situation, particularly in the North West and North Central parts of the country, as “very disturbing.”
He however gave assurances that there would be more resources for the country’s military, police and other security agencies to deal with the unwanted security situation in some areas of the country.
The President’s new position was made known in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
Shehu said, “In a message to Nigerians shortly after performing the Eid prayers with his family and aides at the forecourt of the State House, Abuja on Friday, President Buhari said that while much had been achieved, security wise, from the situation he inherited in 2015, more still needed to be done.”
Buhari said considering the security situation on ground when he came to office, “Nigerians know that we have done our best. However, what is coming out of the North West and North Central is very disturbing.”
Responding to a specific question on the performance of the Service Chiefs which recently, he said needed to get better, the President said that the Military, the Police and other security agencies are working hard.
“We are making available resources to them to even do better,” he assured, adding that “from the reports I am getting, they could do much better…they could do much better. But we are keeping them on the alert all the time to do their duties.”
On the issue of corruption, President Buhari said that all past and present cases will be fully investigated.
“This is why we put the commission (of investigation) in place. There has been abuse of trust by people trusted by the previous administration and this administration,” he said, stressing that all of such cases will be uncovered and firmly dealt with by his government.
On the specific case of the Niger Delta, Buhari decried the wastage of the resources earmarked for the betterment of the lives of the people of that region, lamenting that corruption had been unhelpful in that regard, especially “if you recall there is the 13 per cent derivation.”
He also warned against the vandalization of oil pipelines in the oil- producing areas which often results in environmental pollution.
“Those who are blowing pipelines and interfering with the production of petroleum products are hurting their people more than the rest of Nigerians because majority of their people are fishermen, fisherwomen and farmers. Now if they pollute the land and the waters, the fish goes into the deeper sea where the people cannot go and they cannot grow anything. They are hurting their immediate communities more than any other thing,” Buhari further noted.
