Precious Ugwuzor
Dr Josef Onoh, former South-East campaign spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, has criticised former President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent claim that his administration significantly improved Nigeria’s security and economy.
Buhari made the assertion on Wednesday while hosting members of the Katsina State Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) at his residence in Daura. He insisted that Nigeria was in a better state when he left office in 2023 than when he assumed power in 2015.
However, in a scathing response, Onoh dismissed Buhari’s self-assessment, arguing that Tinubu’s administration is currently struggling to repair the damage inflicted by the former president’s mismanagement.
“Nigerians today accuse Tinubu’s administration of being the worst they have met without knowing that the President chose to be silent and carry his cross alone without shouting or calling names. He continues to navigate the economic minefields the Buhari administration left behind after they failed to frustrate him from becoming the President,” he said.
Onoh accused Buhari of presiding over unprecedented insecurity, claiming that violence and killings soared under his watch. According to the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST), the cumulative number of people killed in Nigeria before Buhari assumed office in 2015 stood at 34,972. However, from the moment he took power, the death toll skyrocketed to 98,083 by 16 May 2023.
“When you assumed office on May 29, 2015, the cumulative number of people killed in Nigeria, according to the NST, was 34,972. But from the day you assumed office, the death figure rose to 98,083 as of May 16, 2023,” Onoh stated.
A breakdown of fatalities under Buhari’s administration showed that 27,311 people were killed in his first term, while 35,800 died between 2019 and May 2023.
“Let me remind General Buhari that Nigeria has never witnessed the level of insecurity that was witnessed under his administration, not even during the Civil War,” he said.
He cited the annual death toll under Buhari’s tenure as follows: “2015: “5,556; 2016: “5,763”; 2017: “4,618”; 2018: “6,565”; 2019: “8,340”; 2020: “9,694”; 2021: “10,575”; 2022: “9,079”; and 2023: “2,921”.
“Your administration rode on the mantra of change but ended up changing Nigeria for the worst. After you failed, you turned around to blame PDP. Your continuous self-assessment begs certain questions: could this stance be a political pretence or stem from a genuine insensitivity which has been your trademark?” Onoh asked.
He referenced Nigeria’s 2019 Global Terrorism Index ranking, which placed the country as the third most terrorised nation, below Afghanistan and Iraq. He also cited Nigeria’s Fragile States Index, where the country was ranked as the 14th most fragile in the world and 9th in Africa, as well as the Global Peace Index, where Nigeria ranked 148th out of 163 countries.
“Under your watch, attacks and reprisal attacks continued in states like Kaduna, with accusations of ethnic cleansing and mismanagement of religious and cultural diversity. Today, Tinubu’s administration has brought peace to southern Kaduna,” he said.
Onoh accused Buhari’s administration of failing to combat Boko Haram, allowing the insurgents to force people out of their homes and business hubs. He cited the example of Baga, home to one of the biggest fish markets in West Africa, which was abandoned due to the ongoing insurgency and is only now witnessing a gradual return to normalcy under Tinubu.
Praising Tinubu’s security efforts, Onoh commended National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, stating that “he achieved within 18 months in office what the entire Buhari administration could not achieve in eight years.” He also credited Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah for decisively tackling the IPOB sit-at-home menace, working with the Tinubu administration to curb the Simon Ekpa-led terror faction that previous governors had failed to address.
Without holding back, Onoh described Buhari’s economic legacy as one defined by corruption and nepotism. He referenced high-profile financial scandals, stating, “One of the greatest legacies of the Buhari administration was the success story of a recharge card seller turned billionaire overnight and a serving Central Bank governor running for president from the comfort of his office using public funds.”
He re-echoed the Buhari government’s slogan-driven governance, stating, “Your administration yesterday introduced ‘Ranka ya Dede Nepotism,’ today, it’s ‘Emilokan,’ tomorrow, it might be ‘Igbo Kwenu,’ and what will be next tomorrow’s catchphrase?”
Onoh insisted that any fair assessment of Buhari’s administration, whether by historians or artificial intelligence, must take into account the “staggering statistics” of insecurity and economic failures.
He stated that these failures “had a verifiable impact on the direction of investment decisions, both foreign and local”, affecting both Nigeria’s global perception and the livelihoods of its citizens.
“Your eight years in office were truly the Las Vegas of insecurity and corruption,” Onoh concluded.
