Jonathan says insecurity getting worse under Buhari
Jonathan has urged Buhari to come up with new ideas to solve Nigeria's security crisis.
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The former president said this while paying a condolence visit to Reuben Fasoranti, the leader of Afenifere, a Yoruba socio-cultural group, whose daughter, Funke Olakunrin, was killed by gunmen on the Benin-Ore road last week.
Her death is another in a long list of killings and kidnappings that have gripped the country over the past year.
While speaking on Tuesday, July 16, 2019, Jonathan, who was president between 2010 and 2015, said the government must figure out a solution to curb the rise of insecurity.
He said, "The issue of security must be approached from a different dimension. We cannot continue the old way because it is getting out of hand. We hope the federal and state governments will do something about it.
"Every generation face problems and this generation must find ways to solve these problems. Every government faces problem.
"The first commercial kidnapping, because it involved money, happened in 2006 when I was the governor of Bayelsa state. From that time, it moved to terrorism in the north. Now, it is a major problem in the country.
"The federal government in conjunction with state government must design a different approach to this issue.
"I was there as president and security challenge was there but now, it is getting worse everyday and we can't continue to use the same old method."
Another former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, wrote an open letter to Buhari on Monday, July 15, warning the president that the country is at a dangerous tipping point.
Obasanjo urged the president to conduct a national conference to figure out an all-inclusive solution to the crisis.
However, while speaking on Tuesday, Jonathan said Buhari should instead consult the report of the national conference he set up while he was president in 2014.
He said, "A lot of things were discussed during the national conference organized during my time as president. The issue of security, state and community policing were discussed. I always believe that government should look at that report, it was not written by me.
"We should not play politics with serious national issue. If we look at that report, there are recommendations that bother on security and if there is an area that needs to be expanded, because I believe everyday new ideas comes, it should be updated.
"There is nothing wrong holding a specific meeting to look at the issue of security.
"I believe the federal and state government having a new approach, deploying technology and having more money to protect our people."
When Buhari beat Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election, insecurity, especially in the northeast, was a significant issue that many believed the former Bayelsa governor was incapable of addressing.
The country has been plagued by the same problem, but Buhari won re-election in the 2019 election despite the death of thousands in violent killings that took place under his administration, especially in 2018.
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