Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has laid the blame for the protracted Boko Haram insurgency on the doorsteps of Nigerian presidents who succeeded Olusegun Obasanjo, citing a lack of political will to tackle insecurity.

Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday during a courtesy visit by stakeholders from the Kogi East Senatorial District, led by former Kogi State Deputy Governor Simon Achuba, Atiku recounted how the early threat of Boko Haram was decisively quelled under the Obasanjo administration. The meeting was captured in a video shared on Atiku’s verified Facebook page.

Atiku said the insurgent group first emerged in Yobe State in 2002 during his tenure as vice president. According to him, then-President Obasanjo promptly sought his counsel on how to respond to the budding threat. “The president sent for me and asked, ‘VP, what do we do about this?’ I suggested we summon the service chiefs and give them a deadline. If they failed, they should resign. He agreed, and within a few weeks, the insurgency in Yobe was put down,” Atiku explained.

He maintained that the insurgency did not re-emerge throughout the remainder of their administration, attributing the success to firm leadership and swift action.

The former vice president, however, expressed regret that subsequent administrations failed to show similar resolve, which, he said, allowed Boko Haram to regroup and evolve into a major security threat. “There’s a lack of political will among the leaders. When citizens are being killed and a leader doesn’t take urgent action, it’s an act of gross irresponsibility,” Atiku said.

He criticised the perceived complacency of current and past leaders in the face of mounting insecurity across the country. “When they’re killing your citizens, how can you even eat? That is the greatest irresponsibility by any political leader,” he added.

Atiku, who served from 1999 to 2007 as Nigeria’s vice president during the Fourth Republic, has been a recurring contender in presidential elections. His recent remarks underscore ongoing debates about the handling of national security and the performance of successive governments in addressing terrorism and insurgency in the country.

Boko Haram, which resurfaced in 2009 after initial suppression, has since been responsible for thousands of deaths and mass displacements, particularly in Nigeria’s North-East region. The group’s resilience has prompted frequent calls for more strategic and coordinated counterterrorism efforts from the Nigerian government.