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.
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