Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed has compared Northern terrorists with southern thugs.
At a press briefing in his office on Thursday, Mohammed said that extremists collecting taxes from residents in many northern states are similar to thugs in the southern states.
Peoples Gazette quotes the Minister saying that northern terrorists should not be seen as running their enclaves outside federal jurisdictions despite amassing wealth through intimation and violence.
“The issue is not about bandits collecting taxes,” Mr Mohammed said. “But that’s not the same as saying there is a new caliphate.”
The Minister said that Southern thugs impose levies on residents without consequences, just like Northern extremists.
Mohammed said, “Do you know how many places in this country where area boys collect taxes, and there is no banditry there?
“I don’t want to mention names. In many of our cities, they carve out their own territories. So what they are writing is nothing. It is not indicative that the bandits have taken over.
“Whereas there are street thugs in Lagos and other southern cities, they operate largely under the shadows.
But insurgents and bandit gangs in northern communities often sack security forces and introduce quasi-administrative roles to government trapped locals.”
The Communication Minister reaction was in connection to The Economist’s latest publication against General Muhammadu Buhari’s regime.
The Economist had accused Mr Buhari of rendering lip services while bandits are running wild.
The publication described Buhari as corrupt and lazy, as Nigeria became a crime scene of destructive magnitude on the African continent.
Criticizing Nigeria media, Lai Mohammed said, “The point is about you (Nigeria media) swallowing hook, line and sinker, a report by a foreign organization, which you have not even interrogated yourself, that’s my problem.”
Lai Mohammed constant complaints are at variance with the stand he took between 2013 and 2015. During this period, the newly formed APC used foreign media’s reports, for instance, reports on Boko Haram, to criticize the then Federal government under President Goodluck Jonathan.
It could be recalled that The Economist endorsed Mr Buhari ahead of the 2015 presidential election, and Lai Mohammed repeated every publication which was in his favour.
On Tuesday, 26 October, Standard Gazette reported how Mohammed lamented the “unfairly” treatment of Nigerian media against Mr Buhari.
The Minister said the government is fighting against “endless bullying”, adding that the local media is one of the most vibrant in the world.
“Let me start by saying that the media is indispensable in building a virile democracy, especially by holding power accountable,” he said.
“This much was recognized by the framers of our constitution, in which the role of the media is unambiguous. Section 22 of the 1999 constitution is clear on this role: ‘The press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media to, at all time, be free to uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.
“The watchdog role of the media is globally acknowledged, more so in the advanced democracies. The Nigerian press has a rich history of holding power accountable. This is not a surprise, considering that the Nigerian press is one of the most vibrant in the world. Yes, I didn’t say that as a joke! Our experience as a government confirms this assertion.
“Whereas in many countries, the press is worried about being bullied by the government, here in Nigeria, it is the government that has to contend with endless bullying by the press.
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