HOW I ENDED MAITATSINE CRISIS----BUHARI

Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) retired General Muhammadu Buhari if elected he would end Boko Haram insurgency like he ended the Maitatsine crisis in the 1980s. Buhari disclosed this in a video of his meeting with youth volunteers in Lagos released yesterday. In the video, Buhari spoke on issues ranging from the economy, stabilizing the naira, politics and his stewardship at the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). He also repeated his call for peaceful elections and for citizens to protect their votes. He spoke about how his regime’s success in fighting domestic terrorism. He reiterated his decisiveness in dealing with enemies of the Nigerian state, recounting an episode when Chadian troops killed Nigerian soldiers, during the regime of Hissene Habré.  This was despite the fact that Nigeria was giving petroleum products to Chad at that time. “Unfortunately for him, (Habré) those Nigerian soldiers were under me,” Buhari  said, to laughter from the audience. Speaking on Maitatsine crisis, the former head of state, recounted how the problem recurring after the leader of the group was first exiled by the then Emir of Kano, then returned and was killed by the police. When the group resurrected in Adamawa, Buhari said: “I flew into Adamawa as head of  state, and that was the last you heard of Maitatsine.” In the video Buhari took his time to explain his role in events like Nigeria’s observer status in the OIC, the so-called $2.8 billion ‘missing’ funds during his time at the NNPC, his time at the PTF, the famous 53 suitcases, among others.