The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, has said he does not understand the Boko Haram phenomenon.
Abubakar made this known on Sunday during People’s Townhall, a brainchild of Channels Television and its partners.
The former Vice President, who attended the meeting with the PDP vice presidential candidate for the 2023 polls and Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, said: “I still cannot understand why we should have Boko Haram.
“You see, I served in Borno State when it was in the North East.
And as a Customs officer, I was patrolling the entire North East.
“So I am very conversant with the vegetation and with the border areas.
“I still cannot find a place in the Borno areas where anybody can hide and cannot be seen.
“I cannot understand honestly, the Boko Haram phenomenon.
“Sometimes when returning from Europe, 30 feet above, I could see a man walking in Borno State.
“So where is the place to hide?
“To the extent that they say there is a place called Sambisa Forest.
“I have been there.
“I didn’t see a forest.
“It is just shrubs here and there.
“So we have deployed the Nigerian military, which used to be one of the best in the world, they have fought, you know, a number of times in the international arena and they have excelled and here we have deployed them with their might and everything and we just could not eliminate Boko Haram.
“So I am puzzled.
“So maybe when I get there, I will understand, but honestly, I cannot understand the Boko Haram phenomenon.
“Everything is there.
“Politics is there.
“Business is there, security, everything.
“Of course, the solution is leadership, strong leadership to deal with all these interest groups within the military and outside the military.”