You Can’t Take Glory For The Recent Defeat Of Boko Haram, FG Tells Jonathan

After Former President Goodluck Jonathan went on
international Tv to say he is glad that the weapons his administration bought
is what the present administration, led by President Muhammadu Buhari is
currently using to defeat Boko Haram and he is happy he laid the foundation for the defeat, the Federal Government through its Minister of Information and
Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has replied the ex-president, telling him not to
dare think of it and remember what he bought during his administration was
nothing but substandard weapons.

In a statement issued in Abeokuta on Monday, the Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described as unfortunate and
unsubstantiated the statement credited to former President Goodluck Jonathan
attributing the recent successes in the war to the weapons allegedly bought by
his Administration that were delivered after he had left office.

He said the present Administration owes it a duty to put the
record straight, especially because the issues raised by the former President
are of public interest and border on national security.

”The weapons, munitions and equipment which the former
President said he bought were refurbished and lacked the basic components and
spare parts. Additionally, the ammunition bought for both high calibre and
small weapons have mostly expired, incompatible with weapons and grossly
inadequate.

”It is pertinent to state that the ammunition he was
referring to were back loaded because they explode within the barrel when
fired, thus leading to deaths and injuries among soldiers,” Alhaji Mohammed
said.

He explained that the troops also lacked the much-needed
lift and operational vehicles and other equipment which they needed for an
effective prosecution of the war, until the present Administration ameliorated
the situation.

”The situation was so pathetic that soldiers were often
transported in Civilian JTF vehicles, civilian vehicles, trailers and water
tankers when going to the theatres of operation. The revelations on the sorry
state of things in the past, which have emanated from the investigative panel
so far, point clearly to the kind of legacy bequeathed to this administration
by the past government.

”That explains why troops remained largely static and were
unable to effectively deploy to completely rout the Boko Haram terrorists in
all their known enclaves. The high level of casualties sustained by our gallant
soldiers was most unprecedented and cannot be compared to any known military
operations in recent times, all because of the terrible state of affairs
suffered by the military under the Jonathan Administration,” the Minister said.

He said apparently because former President Jonathan could
not understand how credible and dedicated leadership could impact positively on
the morale and performance of troops, he has chosen to denigrate the system for
the unprecedented feat that was achieved within the first six months of the
Buhari Administration – something that he could not achieve in all of six
years!

”It is also clear, as has been shown so far by the outcome
of the panel probing past arms deals, that the purchase of substandard weapons
apparently resulted from the massive corruption that enveloped the deals, the
kind of horrifying graft that saw the purchase of refurbished choppers that
lacked rotors, or fighter jets that could not be deployed to the theatre of war
because they were not up to par.

”The needless loss of lives of many of our gallant troops,
resulting from the lack of standard weaponry and low morale in the past, is not
a matter to be trivialized under any circumstance,” the Minister said.

Source