The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has stated that the Nigerian government is not overwhelmed by the security challenges in the country.
Mohammed made this known while reacting to a statement credited to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Punch reports.
Obasanjo had on Saturday declared that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government had been overwhelmed by the myriads of insecurity challenges confronting it, adding that the citizens were not safe to travel by road, airport and train.
Reacting, Mohammed stated that the former Nigerian leader was wrong to have said the government was overwhelmed by rising insecurity in the nation.
The minister said that the Nigerian military had successfully flushed out terrorists from the North-East and the North-West will also be rid of criminal elements soon.
He said it was important not to politicise the security situation so as not to deflate the morale of the military.
He said, “The Federal Government is not overwhelmed at all and we are very proud of our military. The string of successes recorded by the military against Boko Haram is what has led to the decimation of their camps and the surrender of thousands of rebels.”
Mohammed said the government had trained at least 25,000 constables in police duties and intelligence gathering which will improve crime fighting.
He said the government was boosting the morale of security personnel by providing military hardware including 150 trucks and 60 Armed Personnel Carriers in recent times.
“Also, 10,000 army personnel were recruited recently,” he said.
“People should understand that we are in an asymmetrical war and when such war is on, the other party doesn’t have to abide by the rules of engagement but we should stop dampening the morale of our soldiers. What the soldiers need is encouragement. What government needs is more collaboration especially at the state and local government level.”
