neighbours have been more successful in
battle against its Boko Haram
insurgency
than its own army, opposition presidential
candidate Muhammadu Buhari said in an
interview a week before the election.
Troops from neighbouring Chad, Niger and
Cameroon, all much smaller and poorer than
Nigeria, have been battling the Islamist
militants who have seized territory in
northeastern Nigeria in a five-year
insurgency.
Thousands have been killed and 1.5 million
displaced in the uprising by militants known
for executing and kidnapping civilians.
"It's a big disgrace for Nigeria. It is now
Cameroon and Chad fighting the insurgency
more than us. We will build the capacity and
should be able to secure our territorial
integrity," Buhari told Reuters.
A former military ruler, Buhari is hoping his
strongman reputation will resonate with
voters disheartened by incumbent President
Goodluck Jonathan's failure to tackle the
insurgency.
The election itself, set for Feb 14 although
there has been talk of possible delays, will
be another big test of security. Eight hundred
people died in violence after the last election
in 2011.
Buhari said that he was committed to using
the courts if there are irregularities in the
voting, and would not call his followers into
the streets.
"I'm optimistic that I won't lose. But we
signed an undertaking that it will be violence
free," Buhari said. "We are attempting to
stabilize a multi party democratic system."
Buhari said his administration also intends
to tackle corruption within the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corp (NNPC) and plans
to reopen an investigation into missing crude
revenues of around $20 billion.
He would also tackle the theft of crude
tapped from pipelines in the Niger River
delta.
"Our main objective is to secure the country.
We will not tolerate insurgency, sabotage of
the economy by the blowing up of
installations, by stealing crude and so on....
All these things will be things of the past."
