Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has recalled how the administration of then-President Olusegun Obasanjo swiftly quelled the early threat of Boko Haram when the extremist group first emerged in 2002, citing decisive leadership and political will as key to the success.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday during a visit by stakeholders from Kogi East Senatorial District, led by former Kogi State Deputy Governor Simon Achuba, Atiku shared insights into how the Obasanjo administration tackled the nascent insurgency in Yobe State during their tenure.
In a video from the meeting posted on his official Facebook page, Atiku recounted the initial appearance of Boko Haram and how it was promptly addressed. “You remember when Boko Haram started in Yobe? It was actually in 2002. We were in office. The president sent for me and said, ‘VP, what do we do about this?’” Atiku said.
He continued: “Then I said, ‘Mr. President, let’s call the Service Chiefs and give them a deadline. If they can’t put it down, then they should put down their uniforms and go away. We will get some other people.’ And he called the Service Chiefs; I was there, and gave them marching orders. Within a few weeks, they put down the insurgency in Yobe. It never came up again until we left office.”
Atiku attributed the resurgence and expansion of Boko Haram in later years to what he described as a failure of political leadership. “So, I will say there’s a lack of political will on the leaders. When they’re killing your citizens, how can you even eat? They’re killing your citizens and you don’t give a damn; that is the greatest irresponsibility by any political leader, anywhere,” he said.
The former vice president, who served from 1999 to 2007 alongside President Obasanjo during Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, has been a vocal critic of the handling of insecurity by successive administrations. Boko Haram, which began as a fringe Islamic sect in northeastern Nigeria, escalated into a full-blown insurgency after 2009, becoming one of Africa’s deadliest terrorist groups.
