A former Chief of Staff to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Gambari, has stated that the late Nigerian leader regretted his inability to resolve the insecurity situation in the country.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television, Gambari stated that while Buhari was able to counter the Boko Haram insurgency to some extent, lingering insecurity in other regions weighed heavily on him.
He stated that despite Buhari’s effort, banditry and violent attacks in the North-West and parts of the North-Central remained persistent.
“One of the things that pained him the most was that he was unable to do more about the security situation in the country before he left.
“He did a lot by making sure that no territory of Nigeria was under Boko Haram,” Gambari said
“The situation in the North-West, in the North-Central, even in banditry, it pained him a lot. And he felt, ‘I’ve done everything I can for these people.’ He even said at some point that maybe the base was not good enough,” he added.
Gambari also reacted to questions surrounding reports of coup rumours before the end of Buhari’s administration, following claims by the Minister of Defence that such threats existed before President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration.
He said he was not aware of any such intelligence reaching Buhari through his office.
“Honestly, I’m not aware of that. The president had many sources of information. The Chief of Staff is probably a principal one, but not the only one. He could have received information that I was not privy to,” Gambari stated.