President Muhammadu Buhari seems to have admitted to claims by former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo concerning insecurity across the country posing a tough time for the administration.
BIGPENNGR.COM reports that Chief Obasanjo had lamented earlier last month in Abeokuta, at the wake of the bombing of an Abuja-Kaduna train, that insecurity in the country has overwhelmed the Buhari’s administration.
“So, if anybody comes to say I want to see you, I want to talk to you, I will say ‘you’re welcome’. This is because I believe very strongly, and I have said it publicly and I will say it again that the situation we are in this country is not a situation, where one man will say, yes, he has a solution, unless we are deceiving ourselves. I believe we need to sit down collectively and look at the situation.
“A situation where you are not safe on the road, you are not safe on the train, you are not safe at the airport, shows a very serious situation. I believe that all right-thinking Nigerians must know that we have a situation that has overwhelmed the present administration, but we should not allow that situation to overwhelm Nigeria.”, the Nigeria’s former president had said.
Although this claims have since been refuted by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, President Buhari who on Monday joined other Muslim faithful at the parade ground of the Mambila Barracks, Abuja, to perform the Eid-el-Fitr prayer, while responding to questions briefly after the prayer session, admitted to having sleepless nights over the security situation in parts of the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian leader, accompanied by some of his family members and personnel aides, arrived at the venue of the event at about 9.00 a.m.
Others at the praying ground included some members of the Federal Executive Council, security chiefs, heads of para-military organisations, and government officials.
The two-raka’at prayer was led by the Chief Imam of the Barracks, Muhammad Dahey-Shuwa, who spoke on the significance and spiritual values of the just-concluded Ramadan fast.
Dahey-Shuwa, in his sermon, also prayed for peace and stability of the country, calling on citizens to continue to pray and support the nation’s security agencies in their fight against terrorism and violent crimes across the country.
Buhari, however, promised to spare no efforts in dealing decisively and mercilessly with the criminal gangs.
On the forthcoming general elections, the president reaffirmed the commitment of his administration to a free, fair, and transparent process.
The president had, throughout the period of the Ramadan, joined the Muslim faithful at the State House Mosque in interpreting the Qur’an (Tafsir)
Buhari, who took part in the daily exercise, had also used his evenings to host guests from cross-sections of the country to Iftar (breaking of fast).
The president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Shehu Garba, in a statement in Abuja, said the president used the occasions to practise the values projected by Ramadan.
These, according to him, include the promotion of discipline and personal sacrifice, care, and love for the less fortunate, promotion of national unity and support for the Armed Forces as they strive to end terrorism and other crimes in the country.
Monday’s Eid prayer was the first time the president would observe the session outside the Presidential villa since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, two years ago.