In one of his end-of-year press conferences in Abuja, Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed defended President Muhammadu Buhari’s record in fighting against banditry and insurgency in 2021....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
In a report published in Punch newspaper, Alhaji declared that Buhari has made tremendous progress in the fight against banditry and insurgency. But the fact on the ground does not seem to support his assertion because 3125 Nigerians have been killed and over 2700 were abducted by the bandits in 2021 alone.
Indeed, it is safe to say that the bandits became more emboldened in 2021 and carried out more killings and kidnapping in the outgoing year than at any other time in the last six-year.
Banditry became so bad in 2021 that every stakeholder in the north including lawmakers and Governors began to pressure President Buhari to declare the bandits as a terrorist group.
Some of the instances that underline the fact that the bandits became more daring and emboldened in 2021 include the shooting down of a Nigerian Airforce jet in Zamfara State. The event which happened in July was the first time that bandits have achieved such a feat and it underlined the seriousness of the threats posed by the bandits.
Just about one month after that, the bandits successfully attacked the Nigerian Defence Academy.
The attack sent shock waves around the country because the NDA is one of the major symbols of Nigeria’s military might. It was also the first time that such will happened and two officers were killed and one abducted. Then again in September bandits, in a daring attack raided the joint military base in Sokoto killing 15 people
These, including many other attacks across the country, does not support the claim by the Minister that the Buhari administration has made tremendous progress in fighting bandits. Maybe some progress has been made, but it cannot be said to be tremendous progress.
Some of the major progress that has been made by the Buhari administration include attempts to beef up Nigeria’s armoury and boost the morale of Nigerian soldiers by acquiring new weapons and warplanes. For instance, the government recently took delivery of 12 Tucano Super Fighter jets which provides superior battleground technology and firepower for the military.
The administration has also made efforts to improve the welfare of the soldiers. But a lot still needs to be done to record actual progress and put an end to insecurity in the country.
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Note: All photos are for illustration purposes only.