The Federal Government has been advised to take stronger measures to secure the lives of Nigerians from terrorists and kidnappers.

Making this appeal in this interview with ’TUNDE THOMAS in Lagos, former Presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party, NCP during the 2015 general Elections, Engr. Martin Onovo said the threat posed by Boko Haram terrorists and kidnappers to the nation’s continued peaceful co-existence and national security should not be overlooked or ignored.

Onovo also talked on other national issues including mid-term assessment of the APC-led government, restructuring, economy, and President Buhari’s health challenge.

What is your assessment of the APC-led Federal Government mid-term score card?

In order to assess the situation of things in the country since 2015 when APC took the  reins of administration of this country, I think it is even better to use APC’s criteria rather than our own to look at how this government has fared.

Before assuming office and even on assumption of office,  APC said it would accord priority to three things.  One is Security, second is anti-corruption and the third one is the economy.

If we start with security, it is very clear that this government has failed. How do we come to this conclusion? It is very simple – the first test is to ask oneself, do you feel more secure today than you felt in 2015? The more objective way to answer this question is to use data, and what data do we have?

The data we have is that Boko Haram is still very strong. The data we have today is that kidnappings is on the increase. This data on kidnapping is even released and confirmed by the Police and not the National Conscience Party, NCP. In December 2015, the Federal Government told us that Boko Haram had been technically defeated, but then we asked them what is the meaning of technical defeat – they couldn’t provide an answer.

In December 2016, one year after, the Federal Government told us that Boko Haram had been effectively defeated. Effective defeat has clear meaning unlike  technical defeat which is ambiguous. But in all honesty and sincerity, can we say Boko Haram had been effectively defeated? No.  The Federal Government has been playing propaganda on Boko Haram insurgents. The insurgents have become even daring and deadly unlike what the Federal Government is telling us or want us to believe.

Since early this year and up till now, the Boko Haram insurgents have become more deadly – they have even been attacking military barracks and bases at will. There has been an increase in loss of lives as a result of Boko Haram attacks. So if Boko Haram had been effectively defeated, how come the insurgents were able to overrun military bases and Army barracks? We are talking of a military facility being overrun and occupied and not a local government headquarters.

Another area where the APC-led government has failed abysmally is its failure to find solution to the serious menace posed to the national security by the rampaging and vicious Fulani herdsmen who had become another deadly terrorist group in the mould of Boko Haram.

Today, not according to NCP data but according to the Global Terrorists Index, Fulani herdsmen are the 4th most deadly terrorist organization in the world, and up till now, the APC-led government is yet to find a panacea to the danger posed by the Fulani herdsmen to our national security.

As of today, Fulani herdsmen have killed and continue to kill hundreds and thousands of innocent Nigerians in senseless attacks which this APC-led government is yet to find a solution to. So who is deceiving who?

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APC is deceiving Nigerians. This APC-led government is living on propaganda and is sustaining itself by propaganda. Nigerians should not be deceived by the government false assurances and claims that Nigeria is safe, any Nigerian that believed that, is doing so at his or her own peril.

If Nigerians are that safe as they want us to believe, why are kidnappers having a field day abducting people at will? Not only that, nobody no matter how your level, is spared the agony of abduction. School children, businessmen, military officers, just name it have all become targets of kidnappers, and yet we say we have a government in place.

And again if you want to know whether my claims on security failure against this APC- led government is true or not, go and ask Agatu people in Benue State if government has provided them security from attacks by Fulani herdsmen, also go and ask Southern Kaduna people if government has given them security, go and ask the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, the Shiites whether government has provided them security, go and ask those people in IDP camps who were bombed by the Nigeria Air Force if this APC-led government has provided security for them. The list goes on. It seems to be endless.

But on the anti-corruption war, the government has been given kudos by some Nigerians …

Which kudos. The worst form of corruption is the anti-corruption war by Buhari’s government. Do you know why? When you corrupt the anti-corruption war, you are promoting corruption.

APC government is not fighting corruption but promoting it. How is the APC government promoting corruption. It is very simple, APC government is a government of hypocrites. This government apply double standards on issues that require firmness, and impartiality. Look at how the Federal Government was harassing those judges, accusing them of corruption and threatening hell and fire, but at the same time, look at how the same government handled the issue of Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Buratai who bought two houses in Dubai valued at over two million dollars. Instead of APC government to order a thorough investigation into the scandal, the government quickly came to Buratai’s defence claiming that Buratai got the two million dollars he used to buy the house from his salary savings. Who is APC government deceiving? Certainly not Nigerians.

Then the so-called anti-corruption war being fought by APC is selective – the government is using the war to fight its political opponent, to intimidate and harass them, and that’s why you see many politicians defecting to APC now because when you join the ruling party, you are now offered protection. Once you are in APC, your sins are forgotten, so it looks like now.

Then on the economy, what is your view, how has government fared?

Unemployment has been on the increase. Before Buhari took over, in the last quarter of 2014, unemployment stood at 6.4 percent, but today unemployment has risen to over 13 percent.

Officially and according to the National Bureau of Statistics, 1.6 million Nigerians lost their jobs in the second quarter of 2016. Six million people lost their jobs in 2016 alone, and somebody is talking about economic management and economic growth plan.

It is very unfortunate that everything is being politicized. Can we look at inflation? If we look at inflation, this government met 9.2 percent in July 2015, but today we are dealing with an inflation that has risen over 18 percent, and this is official number which has been doctored.

In less than two years of APC government, Naira has lost more than 50 percent of its values. If this is how previous governments have been running this nation, there won’t be any country called Nigeria again.

Look at Buhari’s economic management team, it is full of lawyers and not economists. The chairman of the team who is the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo is a lawyer, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, is also a lawyer and Udo Udoma, another member is also a lawyer, even journalists are on the economic team, more than 70 percent of Buhari economic management team members are lawyers.