A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Josef Onoh, has criticized former President Muhammadu Buhari, describing his eight-year tenure as one marked by monumental corruption, economic collapse, and worsening insecurity.
Onoh’s statement on Friday came in response to Buhari’s recent claim that his administration improved Nigeria’s economy and security after inheriting a deteriorated system from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which governed for 16 years before him.
Buhari told journalists in Katsina during a meeting that his government’s strategies “successfully tackled terrorism and economic hardship,” insisting that things had significantly improved under his watch.
However, Onoh dismissed Buhari’s assertions, saying his administration was characterized by severe economic mismanagement, skyrocketing debt, and rampant corruption.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu is currently struggling to undo the damage left behind by Buhari’s government.
The statement read, “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.
“Under Buhari’s watch, the North East. North Central, South East, South West couldn’t go to sleep in peace. 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.
“Under your watch as President, 98,083 were killed in 12 years; 27,311 persons were killed in your first term in office; 35,800 were killed between 2019 and May 2023.
“Let me remind General Buhari that Nigeria has never witnessed the level of insecurity witnessed under his administration, not even during the Civil War. Let me refresh your memory with figures of Nigerians killed under your watch: In 2015, 5556; In 2016, 5763l; In 2017, 4618; In 2018, 6565; In 2019, 8340. In 2020, 9694; In 2021, 10575; In 2022, 9079; In 2023, 2921 totalling 63,111.
“You rode on the mantra of change but ended up changing Nigeria for the worst, and 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 trade mark.”
Onoh said under the Buhari administration, Nigeria was ranked high in the Global Terrorism Index and was ranked low in the Global Peace Index.
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