Buhari gives himself a pass mark on combating terrorism saying he has degraded Boko Haram

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has given himself a pass mark with regards to dealing with Nigeria's terrorism threat saying that God has helped his administration to clear Boko Haram insurgents out of the northeast.

When President Buhari assumed office in 2015, Boko Haram was on the rise, occupying several local government areas in Borno and Adamawa states and capable of mounting terrorist attacks nationwide. Although the sect's capabilities have been significantly eroded since, Boko Haram and its spin-off groups like Islamic State in West African Province (Iswap) are still very much active in Nigeria today.

According to President Buhari, the threat of terrorism was the most critical security challenge inherited by his regime but he expressed delight that normalcy had returned to the affected states in the northeast of the country.  President Buhari declared that he had fulfilled the commitment he made to Nigerians in his May 29, 2015 inaugural address to frontally and courageously tackle Boko Haram terrorists and stabilise the country.

Saying that nobody could blackmail him on inexplicable wealth and illicit enrichment while in office, the president stated that he did not have one square-inch outside Nigeria. According to President Buhari's spokesman Femi Adesina, his boss would continue to serve God and Nigeria until his last day in office and beyond.

Mr Adesina said: “Noting that the most critical security challenge inherited by the administration nearly eight years ago was the potent and pervasive threat of terrorism, the president expressed delight that normalcy has returned to affected States in northeast Nigeria. He recounted that the threat was particularly pervasive across the northeast geopolitical zone with Yobe State as one of the most hit by the terrorists.

"He, therefore, declared that he has fulfilled the commitment made to Nigerians in his May 29, 2015 inaugural address to frontally and courageously tackle Boko Haram terrorists and stabilize the country. ‘In the northeast, God has helped us to clear Boko Haram, the economy has picked up and some people are asking me about the achievements of my promise to fight corruption."

President Buhari added: "Well, under this system fighting corruption is not easy. When I was in the military, as head of state, I locked up some people because the constitution says you must declare your assets and people who couldn’t explain the differences in their assets, I locked them up.

“‘In the end, I was also locked up. So, if you want to serve this country you must be prepared for the worst but one thing that I am grateful to God for is that nobody can blackmail me. I do not have one-square inch outside Nigeria and I intend to stay in Nigeria when I retire from public office.’