By Bode Olagoke
Abuja
Vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said that if voted into power, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari would be in the forefront of fighting Boko Haram in the North-east, adding that the government would equip the military with modern equipment to perform its duties.
Osinbajo, who was speaking yesterday in Abuja during a town hall meeting with Act Now Professionals (ANP), said as president, unlike President Jonathan, Buhari as Commander-in-Chief would lead by example.
He said: “I think that the major problem with the question of security is again that it was not prioritised by this government. It was not taken seriously enough from the beginning. When you have a situation you do not politicise the insurgency like that. You do not point to the opposition and say it was the opposition that is sponsoring it until General Buhari almost lost his life when Boko Haram attacked him.
“We must start by understanding that there is a war going on in that part of the country and what the government needs to do is to get the nation behind it, not pointing accusing fingers at wrong places.
“Secondly, we need to look at the whole question of funding and equipping the military. The military at the moment is not equipped. I worked with Femi Falana on the mutiny of some solders and what is the complaint of those soldiers who are charged for mutiny? Their complaint is that they are not given equipment, and they want them to go to battle. So, how do you say that? How does anybody think that you can fight the insurgency without ammunition?
“The first priority is security and to question what has gone wrong in the military. Then funding the military adequately and ensuring that the Commander-in-Chief leads from the front.
“But when he was Commander-in-Chief, Buhari led from the front as a soldier. You cannot lead from the back. You cannot fail to go to where the insurgency is taking place, and that is what Buhari has been saying.”
Speaking on corruption, Osinbajo revealed that there would be severe consequences for those engaged in looting the public treasury, adding that the APC would run a transparent government, where public officials would be accountable to the people.
Osinbajo said creation of jobs for the country’s teaming youth was one of the major issues on the agenda of the APC.
“Jobs and creation of employment opportunities have been major issues in the manifesto of the APC.”
He re-echoed the party’s earlier promise that the Buhari-led government would place jobless and poor Nigerians on monthly stipends of N5, 000 and N7, 000 respectively.
He added: “We will give free healthcare to children. We follow the example of Osun state where such has been done successfully.”