Atiku recalls how Obasanjo crushed early Boko Haram insurgency

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has revealed that the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo swiftly quelled the initial emergence of Boko Haram in 2002, attributing the success to decisive leadership and political will.

Atiku made this statement on Wednesday during a meeting with stakeholders from Kogi East Senatorial District, led by former Kogi State Deputy Governor Simon Achuba. The meeting took place in Abuja and a clip from the session was later shared on Atiku’s official Facebook page.

Recalling the early days of the extremist group, Atiku said Boko Haram first surfaced in Yobe State in 2002. He recounted that President Obasanjo immediately consulted him on the appropriate response.

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“You remember when Boko Haram started in Yobe? It was actually in 2002. We were in office. The president sent for me. ‘VP, what do we do about this?’” Atiku said. “Then I said, ‘Mr President, let’s call the Service Chiefs and give them a deadline. If they can’t put it down, they should put down their uniform and go. We will get other people.’”

According to Atiku, the Service Chiefs were summoned and given strict marching orders. Within weeks, the insurgency was quelled and, he noted, did not resurface until after their administration left office in 2007.

The former Vice President, who served under Obasanjo during Nigeria’s return to democratic governance in the Fourth Republic, expressed concern over the continued insecurity across the country. He blamed the resurgence and spread of Boko Haram and other violent groups on what he described as a lack of political will among successive leaders.

“When they’re killing your citizens, how can you even eat? They’re killing your citizens and you don’t give a damn—that is the greatest irresponsibility by any political leader, anywhere,” he said. “So I hold our leadership responsible for all the insecurity going on all over the place.”

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