On Boko Haram’s Defeat by Buhari
By Musa Illalah
It is not surprising that the no-nonsense Professor of eschatology, Ishaq Akintola, Founder and Executive Director of Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC widely known for speaking the truth and depending the rights of the masses has again patriotically spoken the unbiased truth to put the records straight.
Professor Ishaq was reacting through a press statement titled ‘BUHARI DEFEATED BOKO HARAM, NOT JONATHAN’ on the controversy surrounding the truth about which Nigerian President defeated Boko Haram. He reaffirmed that it was ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, not his predecessor, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan who defeated Boko Haram.
He described the claim by Senator Ali Ndume that President Jonathan and not President Buhari defeated Boko Haram as merely political, a fairy tale and insincere assessmment of the records in public domain. Professor Ishaq’s Defence of the truth, is without mincing words, “very inspiring’ to all Buharists and well meaning Nigerians.
Senator Ndume’s reasons for such comments may not be far fetched from PMB’s endorsement for Senator Ahmed Lawan against Ndume as Nigeria’s Senate President in 2019. PMB’s choice was clearly in the best interest of the country which Senator Ndume has refused to accept.
Going down the memory lane, one can confidently say that former President Muhammadu Buhari as a retired General of the Nigerian Army, energised the armed forces and their resources and motivated them at the onset of his administration in 2015 with more than N5 trillion in the country’s defence budget.
Ex President Buhari, strategically pursued regular recruitment into the Police and the armed forces and purchased modern and sophisticated weapons, including F-16 fighter planes and 6 Super Tucano jets from the USA which in turn became a game changer in the fight against insurgency and banditry.
Even JSC “Aviacon Zitotrans”, a private cargo airline manufacturer based in Yekaterinburg, Russia, acknowledged the fact that the 32 fighter jets purchased by the Buhari administration elevated Nigeria to the level of the military super power in Africa
Indeed it is crystal clear that ex President Buhari remains the hero in Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram insurgents, bandits, cattle rustlers and other crimes. During his tenure, he ensured that funds meant for the military were not diverted to personal gains.
Unlike Ex President Buhari, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s government reportedly diverted and dashed $2.1 billion meant for the purchase of arms for the military fighting insurgency in the North East to his party men. The dirty deal was leaked in 2016 by the Campaign for Democracy, CD which demanded that the PMB administration orders an immediate probe.
A CNN report by Nic Robertson, a senior international correspondent, published on 15th January, 2015 with the caption ‘Nigerian Military Disorganised, Underequipped in Battle Against Boko Haram’ revealed how a Nigerian soldier was left on the battlefield after his comrades fled in the face of Boko Haram attack due to lack of commensurate weapons to respond to attacks from the insurgents.
The abduction of 276 Chibok school girls in Borno State from their school hostel on 14th April, 2014 during the Jonathan administration was one of the darkest days of the country that puts to light the ineptitude and cluelessness of the administration.
From an annual budget of N312.2bn for recurrent expenditure and N130.8bn for capital expenditure for the armed forces in 2016, the PMB administration pushed it to N483bn, N576.3bn, N585.9bn in 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively. The PMB administration remained focused in funding the armed forces against the background of his committment to defeat BH as part of his 3 fronged campaign promise.
In 2020, N899.9bn was budgeted for the ministry while in 2021, N966.4bn was allocated to the ministry, including N838.5bn for recurrent expenditure and N127.8bn for capital expenditure.
It will recalled that ex President Buhari, on April 4, 2018, approved the sum of $1bn for the purchase of military equipment, following a meeting with security chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
In 2018, Buhari told the National Assembly that he had ordered the payment of $496m to the United States Government for the purchase of 12 Tucano aircraft ahead of legislative approval to withdraw the $1bn fund from the Excess Crude Account. The first set of 6 Tucano jets were inducted in August 2021.
Similarly, then President Buhari in 2018 during a graduation ceremony at the National Defence College in Abuja directed the Ministry of Defence to urgently articulate a proposal for the establishment of a military industrial complex to produce weapons and other equipments for the country’s armed forces rather than relying on Foreign suppliers. Similarly, PMB directed the Ministry to liaise with ministries and agencies to collaborate and re engineer the Defence Industries Corporation, DICON, an institution that is capable of producing military hardware and logistic requirements for the armed forces.
The presidential directive followed the attribution of the delay in defeating Boko Haram to lack of imported weapons and hardware by the then Chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshal Alex Badeh.
One can confidently say that before leaving office on May 29th, 2023, the PMB administration had made its mark by significantly defeating the dreaded Boko Haram. .
No matter what, there is no gainsaying the fact that PMB’s efforts to defeat Boko Haram have significantly outweighed ex President Jonathan’s non challant and I don’t care approach as exhibited after the abduction of the Chibok school girls among others
Musa Illalah, a Public Affairs Analyst writes from Abuja and can be reached via musahk123@yahoo.com
