'US Embargo Forced Jonathan To Buy Arms With Raw Cash' – Fani-Kayode

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'US Embargo Forced Jonathan To Buy Arms With Raw Cash' – Fani-Kayode

FORMER Aviation Minis­ter, Femi Fani-Kayode has said former president Good­luck Jonathan was forced to buy arms with cash because of the embargo placed on arms purchase.

Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sun­rise Daily, Fani-kayode dis­missed a statement credited to President Muhammadu Buhari, who said Jonathan bought arms with raw cash. The former minister said contrary to the impression the present
administration wants to create in the minds of Nigerians; there was nothing wrong with buying arms with cash under the previous administration. He explained that the embargo placed on arms purchase by western countries like the United States of America forced Jonathan to purchase arms with cash.

He said: “There was an embargo on arms purchase in Nigeria and the military needed the arms to fight against terrorists and the only way arms could be bought was through the black market. Before the 2015 general election, the military had made sufficient gains in the war against ter­ror because they were able to recover 22 local govern­ments from the terrorists, but all that appears to have been reversed after the elec­tions.

“Contrary to the assurance given by the present admin­istration, the war against terror has not been won by the military and people are being killed every day. The government had claimed on December 23 that the war against insurgency had been won by the military, but on December 25, some people were killed in Maiduguri, with more casualties in Borno on December 27 and in Adamawa on December 28. It is simply not true that the war against Boko Haram has been won.”

He further stated that it is not helpful to continuously blame the present admin­istration for the challenges being faced at the war front but called on Nigerians to come together and support the government in the fight against insurgency. He also advised the government to come clean about the chal­lenges being faced and stop dwelling on actions of the previous administration