The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has said the West refuse to sell arms and technological equipment to fight insecurity to Nigeria because they are not comfortable enough with the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
Tinubu, however, said he can defend Buhari that insecurity had reduced in the country.
“It has reduced. I will defend him for that. Then, 17 local governments and about four states where we had flags of foreign Jihadists in Nigeria, that is no more, that is long gone,” he said in an interview on BBC.
Tinubu who promised to proritise security, economic development and reduction in inflation when elected, said normalcy is gradually returning to states that were hitherto under the control of the insurgents.
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He noted that it is usually more difficult to restore normalcy to areas hitherto ravaged by insurgency, saying, “Buhari has degraded but not completely eliminated ISWAP.”
“Then we talk briefly of lethal weapons, ammunition and technological equipment that could have helped to accelerate the cleanup of those people (Jihadists), the West is yet to feel comfortable eenough with the Buhari’s administration to sell us the arms and technologies,” he added.
Asked if the situation would change under him, Tinubu said, “It could change and it might not change but we have to look at the alternatives which is the mass recruitment of individuals in a volunteer Army to really clean up.”
On what he would do differently being a member of the same ruling APC with President Buhari which has faced increasing criticism over the worsening standards of living and rising inflation, Tinubu declared that he is different.
He said, “I am Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I have governed Lagos, I have built a modern state that could be a country on its own. I have led an administration that is so prudent, from N600m internally generated revenue to N5bn a month, that is a record, nobody else can brag about that.
“I have treated and tamed the Atlantic Ocean surge in Nigeria that would have perished many people in Lagos, the infrastructural renewal of Lagos is excellent… Buhari has done his best. I can’t run away from him being my friend, my leader in the party. I will not.”
