Adesina clarifies Buhari’s comment on rising insecurity in North-east

Bayo Wahab 18:42 - 30 January 2020

Buhari

Adesina also warned against deliberate misinterpretation of the president’s statement.

Following the criticisms that greeted President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement that he was surprised by the rising security in Nigeria, the president's spokesperson, Femi Adesina has said that the statement was misinterpreted.

While hosting a group of people from Niger state on Monday, January 27, 2020, President Buhari had said, “I was taken aback by what is happening in the north-west and other parts of the country. During our campaigns, we knew about the Boko Haram. What is coming now is surprising.”

The comment sparked controversy as senate minority leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe called for Buhari’s resignation.

However, in a statement on Thursday, January 30, 2020, Adesina said the president did not say he is unaware of the security challenges in the country

Adesina explained that what Buhari meant was that, he was surprised about the emergence of banditry in the north-east despite the homogeneity of the region.

Adesina said, “The reportage of the statement above was slanted to mean that President Buhari said he was unaware of the security challenges in some parts of the country. Far from it, except to the mischievous mind. The President is fully aware and fully in charge of all that is going on.

“The statement by the President was clear enough, and these are the salient points:

Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity (Premiumtimes)

“In 2015, we knew there was Boko Haram insurgency, particularly in the North-east, and we mentioned it in our campaigns. There are clear economic and cultural factors behind the clashes that sadly rocked many of our communities, be they the Fulani-Tiv or Fulani-Berom conflict, the Tiv versus Jukun and so on. By now, these conflicts are fairly under control.

“By 2019, banditry had surfaced in the North-West. It was surprising, as the area is almost homogeneous, made up of Hausa-Fulanis. The combatants are largely Muslim. This is what the President said he was surprised about.”

Adesina warned against deliberate misinterpretation of the president’s statement, saying “It is disingenuous that the earlier and latter parts of the statement were downplayed, and the middle part misinterpreted to mean that President Buhari was unaware or surprised by the security situation in the country.

“It is all about our country, and deliberately misrepresenting the President hurts not just the country, but the mischief makers themselves, ultimately.”