Negative predictions about Nigeria won’t come to pass, says minister

The Federal Government yesterday said the doomsday predictions about Nigeria would not come to pass, insisting that the nation would not become a ‘failed state’, but rise to become more respected in the community of nations.

Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, countered the prediction while presenting government’s scorecard for 2020 to journalists in Lagos.

Mohammed described the characterisation of Nigeria as a ‘failing’ state as a combination of the wishful thinking of naysayers and the evil machinations of those who don’t wish the country well.

He said 2020, undoubtedly, was one of the most challenging years for the country with the global pandemic that triggered economic recession, a heightened security challenge and violence that stemmed from the #EndSARS protest.

According to the minister, the Federal Government is fending off attacks not only from terrorists and bandits, but also some human rights organizations and the International Criminal Court (ICC), which seem to have colluded to exacerbate the challenges facing the country in the area of security.

“While our security agencies continue to battle these bandits and terrorists, the ICC and some international human rights organisations, especially Amnesty International, have constituted themselves to another ‘fighting force’ against Nigeria, constantly harassing our security forces and threatening them with investigation and possible prosecution over alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes,” Mohammed alleged.

He stated that the current economic recession would not last long, raising the hope that Nigeria will soon return to positive growth through government’s economic sustainability plan and other interventions.

“Despite the antics of those who have constituted themselves to another ‘fighting force’ against our country, we have indeed made tremendous progress in tackling bandits and the terrorists of Boko Haram. Some jaundiced analysts and their lapdogs have sought to portray Nigeria as a failing state, on the strength of its security challenges. But these analysts are dead wrong. Nigeria is not and cannot be a failing or failed state. Of course, you would remember that for the past two decades or so, some pseudo-analysts have been predicting the country’s implosion,” he said.

The minister claimed President Buhari has continued to provide the armed forces and other security agencies with whatever they require to function better, both in terms of platforms, logistics and capacity development. According to Mohammed, the recent swift response and rescue of the 344 kidnapped Kankara schools boys in Katsina State from bandits attests to his claim.

“The fact that the attacks and bombings have stopped is a testimony to the progress we have made in tackling terrorism, which, by the way, is not like conventional warfare. The stoppage of the attacks didn’t happen by accident. It is, therefore, mischievous for anyone to discountenance the progress we have made in tackling insecurity, in building and upgrading infrastructure and in diversifying the economy, among others.