The Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade, has said that the security situation in Nigeria would have been worse if not for the efforts of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
Ayade, who was saying this while addressing pressmen after meeting with the president at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, commended the president’s understanding of international and local security challenges, adding that he was able to suppress banditry and Boko Haram insurgency.
Ayade said, “Let me first acknowledge the depth of knowledge and the depth of the intellect that the president exudes, his master hand understanding of the international and global security challenges and dovetailing into the Nigerian situation, and, what he has done to be able to stem the continuous incursion of bandits and Boko Haram into Nigeria.”
He continued, “This country would have been in a worse situation but President Muhammadu Buhari given the fall of Afghanistan, given the massive movement of people who have a feeling that the West African province belongs to them by birth, and therefore Muslims of West African origin, and Christians, in their opinion, are infidels and therefore must be wiped out.
“If President Muhammadu Buhari were not the president, perhaps things could have been worse. I say this with all amount of confidence because I do recall when we used to have bombings even right here in the city of Abuja. The flags that used to adorn most of our northern states as Boko Haram enclaves have all been brought down. This does not stop occasional incidents of attack here and there. Guerrilla war takes 30 to 40 years to end. The Algeria experience is too recent for us to remember.”
“Indeed, the collapse of Afghanistan puts a major threat on national security and puts in far more pressure on northern Nigeria with an intent by ISWAP to ensure that they conquer West African province.”
Ayade also noted that the President did thoroughly tutored on the subject of global security, saying that the enormity of security should not be underrated.
