In far away London, United Kingdom, and despite reports that he is on a five-day vacation, President Muhammadu Buhari has said that one of the biggest suspects in the ongoing probe of corruption in Nigeria lives in their midst.
Buhari, who refused to mention any name, said this in an interview with the United Kingdom-based newspaper, Daily Telegraph.
He also spoke about Boko Haram, saying that his administration was ready to discuss with them on the missing Chibok girls.
“One of the biggest corruption suspects is in Britain, although, I am not going to name that person. But, Britain has earned our respect in the way it deals with these matters.
“Our only problem is that it seems to be too thorough and it takes too much time. If there are obvious cases, like bank accounts, infrastructure, houses and hotels, I would hope they could do it quicker, so that we can claim these things back promptly.”
On Boko Haram, the president said: “As long as we can establish the bonafides of the leadership of Boko Haram, we are prepared as a government to discuss with them on how to get the girls back. But, we have not established any evidence of a credible leadership.
Asked if Abubakar Shekau was still the leader of the sect, Buhari said: “I receive conflicting information about the status of Shekau. Some say he has been removed and replaced by a less charismatic terrorist”
“I think he must be on the run, because out of the 14 local governments that Boko Haram used to call their Caliphate, they do not control any now. They are scattered around the Sambisa forest and they have resorted to attacking soft targets, people in churches, mosques and market places, using improvised explosives devices.”
Responding to a question on whether he asked the west for military assistance during the last G7 meeting, the president answered: “Yes. I did, but I don’t want to give details of that in public, at present. As you know, we already have foreign military help in terms of training missions”.
While expressing disappointment that his predecessor in office resorted to mercenaries, he also lamented the recent revelations of how military allocations were also misappropriated. Buhari asked rhetorically: “How is it that Nigeria’s military, which has a good record across West Africa, cannot claim back to 14 out of 774 local local governments from Boko Haram. They have to ask for mercenaries from South Africa?. How the mighty has fallen!”
On the threat of terrorism across West and North Africa, Buhari said: “I think we should be very worried because with technology, Boko Haram and other terrorists have become very mobile in all continents, not only in Africa, but also in Europe, America and Asia.
“For Africa and the Sahel, the demise of (Muamar) Ghaddafi’s regime led to a lot of armed and trained people, especially those from the Sahel, being dispersed. Fighting is the only thing they know and they are available at a fee. The danger is there and I am pleased that Europe has realised it too”.
The president said he has not seen confirmed reports that Nigerians have been fighting for Isil in the Libya city of Sirte. On whether Nigerian in diaspora in the UK were being involved in Boko Haram, he replied:” No, but if I do, I will immediately raise the issue. “A number of Nigerianss use the migrant routes to come to the UK to claim asylum, saying their lives are at risk from Boko Haram. Is it legitimate for them to do so?” (Daily Sun)
