Omokri bashes Buhari: ‘Northern Nigeria worse off after eight years of failure’

In a scorching criticism of former President Muhammadu Buhari, Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has blasted Buhari’s leadership, claiming that his eight years in power left Northern Nigeria far worse off than when he assumed office in 2015.

In a scathing social media post, Omokri accused Buhari of exacerbating security challenges in the region, leaving a legacy of violence, kidnappings, and economic hardship.

According to Omokri, while Buhari had promised to restore security, his administration only saw the rise of banditry, Boko Haram expansion, and widespread terror.

“For eight years, General Buhari could not solve the challenges bedeviling Northern Nigeria. Instead, he left the North worse off than how he met her,” Omokri wrote, in a blunt assessment of Buhari’s tenure.

The ex-presidential aide continued: “When President Jonathan handed over power to General Buhari on May 29, 2015, no part of Nigeria was being occupied by Boko Haram. Elections held in every single ward of Nigeria. There was nothing like banditry. No part of the Northwest was under the control of any Kachallah. Nigerians had not heard of characters like Kachalla Ali Kawaje, Boderi, or Bello Turji. School abductions had only occurred in Yobe and Borno.”

He went on to highlight the drastic deterioration in security under Buhari’s administration: “After eight years of General Buhari, parts of Katsina, his home state, Zamfara, Sokoto, and other Northwest states were occupied by bandits. Nigerians living in Abuja could hardly travel to Kaduna for fear of being abducted. Bandits were so bold that they were openly having meetings with clerics in broad daylight armed to the teeth.”

Omokri’s post also condemned the Buhari administration’s handling of Boko Haram and terrorism: “Almost a thousand terrorists on motorcycles invaded Kuje prison and freed over 500 of their fellow terrorists. Boko Haram militants were being rehabilitated and feted, with the government throwing graduation parties for them at which they wore trendy clothes with gifts given to them, while the orphans whose parents they killed were still in IDP camps.”

The former aide didn’t hold back when addressing the economic toll of Buhari’s presidency: “Our per capita income dipped below $2000, and our foreign debt skyrocketed to $52 billion, even as we spent almost all our revenue servicing debt.”

Omokri’s post also pointed out the shocking breaches of national security during Buhari’s tenure: “Terrorists breached Kaduna Airport, and flights were diverted to Abuja. The Nigerian Defence Academy was infiltrated by bandits, and soldiers were killed and abducted. Even the Abuja-Kaduna railway built by President Jonathan was bombed, and tens of Nigerians were either killed or abducted.”

In a final jibe at those expecting President Bola Tinubu to rectify these deep-rooted issues in less than two years, Omokri posed the critical question: “Does it appear realistic for either the esteemed Arewa Consultative Forum or the well-respected Northern Elders Forum to expect President Bola Tinubu to fix the issues affecting Northern Nigeria in less than two years when General Buhari, who is from the North, could not even do it in eight years and rather made it worse?”