The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has given Nigerians more question than answers as he tried to assure the citizens that the Federal Government have the security of the country under control. In a press briefing held in Lagos on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, which was aimed at addressing the public and deflecting suggestions that the Buhari administration had no clue with regards to tackling insecurity in the country, the nations’ Information Minister tried to assure that government effort will soon start paying off as he urged the citizens to be patient with the Federal government.
His statement from the press briefing read:
“It is no longer news that our dear nation is facing security challenges. However, I have read comments saying the Federal Government is overwhelmed and doesn’t have a clue as to how to tackle the challenges. Some have even gone as far as suggesting a truncation of the democratic order, a clearly treasonable stance.
“Well, I am here today to assure all Nigerians that while the government acknowledges the security challenges we face at this time, from terrorism to kidnapping, banditry and farmer-herder conflict, it is definitely not overwhelmed and indeed it has the wherewithal, as you will see in the days ahead, to confront the challenges headlong and restore law and order, peace and security.
“One of the most difficult things to do, for a democratically-elected government, is to use the instruments of coercion against its own people. For example, while the nation’s military have superior firepower over the rag tag band of Boko Haram and ISWA, the terrorists most often than not operate among the populace, either in our villages or towns, hence the military, in tackling them, is usually careful to avoid collateral damage.
“The same applies to the kidnappers who abduct our school children. Usually, the location of the kidnappers is not unknown to security forces, but they still have to exercise caution in order not to hurt the same children they are trying to rescue. Despite these inhibitions, the security forces have the wherewithal to decisively tackle the challenges.”
In a recent feature on Channels Television, the Minister was quoted as saying that he is blaming the regime of Gen. Murtala Mohammed for the level of insecurity the country is facing today. The comment saw him receive a huge backlash from Nigerians who labeled his principal’s administration as being clueless in the face of growing insecurity in the country. However, he came out to debunk the claim as “fake news and disinformation”. He also called out Nigerians for misquoting him and taking a statement credited to him ‘out of context’.
“It is amazing at times how people interpret ones’ opinions and views in a very negative sense. What happened was that the lead speaker at a Town Hall Meeting we held in Kaduna recently, made reference to the retreat by the former military Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon, after the civil war. He said that at the end of the retreat, there was consensus that all children born after the civil war must be given free and compulsory primary education.
“I simply elaborated on this information and said that if subsequent governments after Gen. Gowon had perfected this pledge, the bandits and kidnappers today will have no market to recruit their followers. I said we have about 13 million out-of-school children and if successive government had taken the decision at the Gowon’s retreat seriously, we will not be where we are today.
“There was nowhere I blamed Gen. Murtala Mohammed, but we are in the era of disinformation and fake news.”
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