Buhari will flush out Boko Haram – Osinbajo

By Umar Muhammad Puma

Vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has assured Nigerians that General Muhammadu Buhari if elected will lead the military to North-east to flush out the Boko Haram as commander in chief.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Abuja yesterday, Osinbanjo said as president, the Commander-In-Chief must lead by example, and criticized President Jonathan, of reneging on his promise to protect Nigerians.

He also revealed how the APC-led government will rescue the abducted Chibok girls, by equipping the military and giving the country a sense of direction.

“I think the major problem with the question of security is that it was not prioritised by this government. It was not taken seriously enough from the beginning. When you have a situation you do not politicise the insurgency like that. You do not point to the opposition and say it was the opposition that is sponsoring it, until General Buhari almost lost his life when Boko haram attacked him.

“We must start by understanding that there is a war going on in that part of the country and what the government needs to do is to get the nation behind it, not pointing accusing fingers at wrong places.

“Secondly, we need to look at the whole question of funding and equipping the military. The military at the moment is not equipped. I worked with Femi Falana on the mutiny of some solders and what is the complain of those soldiers who are charged for mutiny? Their complaint is that they are not given equipment and they want them to go to battle. So, how do you say that? How does anybody think that you can fight the insurgency without ammunition?

“The first priority is security and to question what has gone wrong in the military. Then funding the military adequately and ensuring that the Commander-In-Chief leads from the front. But when he was Commander-In-Chief, Buhari led from the front as a soldier. You cannot lead from the back. You cannot fail to go to where the insurgency is taking place and that is what Buhari has been saying.”

Speaking on corruption, Osinbajo revealed that there will be severe consequences for those engaged in looting public treasury. He said APC will run a transparent government, where public officials will be accountable to the people.

He said that creation of jobs for the country’s teaming youths is one of the major agenda of APC if elected into office. “Jobs and creation of employment opportunities have been major issues in the manifesto of the APC,” Osinbajo said.

He re-echoed the party’s earlier promise that the Buhari-led government will place jobless and poor Nigerians on monthly stipends of N5, 000 and N7, 000 respectively. “The idea is to take 2.5 million people out of poverty every year,” he said